OSHA Extends Comment Period and Announces Stakeholder Meeting on Noise Control Interpretation The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has announced there will be an extension for the official comment period on the proposed interpretation titled “Interpretation of OSHA’s Provisions for Feasible Administrative or Engineering Controls of Occupational Noise.” The official extension is 90 days, so Read more
3 Important Illinois Employment-related Changes Effective 1/1/2011: Children & Grandparents Now Eligible for Family Military LeaveEffective January 1, 2011, employees who are the child or grandparent of a person called into active military service are entitled to the same leave previously provided to spouses and parents under the Family Military Leave Act. Under the expanded Read more
The Top 10 Most Frequently Cited Standards in Fiscal Year 2010 The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has released the top 10 most frequently cited standards in the fiscal year 2010, October 1, 2009 through September 30, 2010. The list is as follows: Scaffolding, general requirements (Construction) Fall protection (Construction) Hazard communication standard (General Industry) Read more
California State-OSHA Plan First to Have Diacetyl Standard Cal/OSHA has implemented a new standard to further protect workers in the state. The Diacetyl Standard, the first of its kind, requires employers covered by the standard to take special precautions to ensure worker safety. Employers are required to do the following: Create a regulated area for Read more
New York Employees, Contractors and Subcontractors are Covered by the Construction Industry Fair Play Act It is against the law for New York employers to misclassify employees as independent contractors or pay employees off-the-books under the new Construction Industry Fair Play Act. Studies were conducted showing that approximately 15 to 25 percent of construction workers Read more
Domestic Workers and Their Employers Have Rights and Responsibilities Under the New York Labor Law The New York Domestic Workers’ Bill of Rights represents progressive landmark legislation. It affords specified domestic workers in New York fundamental labor law protections that were previously only granted to other employees. In signing the Domestic Workers’ Bill of Rights Read more
West Virginia Workers are Now Eligible for Unemployment Compensation using Alternative Base Period Wages West Virginia’s Unemployment Benefits poster has been updated as a result of legislation passed in May, 2009 (WV SB 246) which amended West Virginia’s Unemployment Compensation Law. The terms “alternative base period” and “alternative base period wages’” were added to the Read more
Break Time for Nursing Mothers: A Fact Sheet for Employers On July 25, 2010, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued a fact sheet addressing a recently enacted requirement – found in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) – that employers provide reasonable break time for nursing mothers to express breast milk. The Read more
New 2011 Washington, D.C. Mandatory Accrued Sick and Safe Leave Act Official Notice The District of Columbia has released the long-awaited mandatory-to-post Accrued Sick and Safe Leave Act of 2008 (ASSLA) Official Notice. The ASSLA requires employers in the District of Columbia to provide paid leave to employees for illness and for absences associated with Read more
Raising Awareness About Indoor Heat Illness is a Year-round Concern Raising awareness about the causes, consequences and prevention of heat illness in indoor working environments, particularly during the hot summer months, can have a significant impact in reducing the number of heat-related illnesses in the workplace. However, indoor heat illness in high risk environments is Read more
