Practical EHS Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
The COVID-19 outbreak is at top of mind for environment, health, and safety (EHS) professionals nationwide.
On May 12, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) updated its “Ventilation in Buildings” guidelines to include a discussion on “How much ventilation is enough?” to help prevent airborne disease transmission. “When possible, aim for 5 or more air changes per hour (ACH) of clean air to help reduce the number of germs […]
An Austin, Texas, Porsche dealership must pay $15,000 in compensatory damages to a whistleblower who was terminated after informing coworkers of their COVID-19 exposure risk, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced March 27. On March 20, Labor Department (DOL) attorneys obtained a consent judgment in the U.S. District Court for the Western District […]
A dental hygienist and dental assistant have won $15,706 in back wages to be paid by the North Texas dentists who fired them for raising concerns about COVID-19 safety measures in spring 2020 following a federal whistleblower investigation conducted by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and litigation filed by the Department of Labor […]
On February 15, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) withdrew its proposed revocation of Arizona’s state workplace safety and health program (88 Fed. Reg. 9796). The federal agency had proposed withdrawing final approval of the state’s plan after Arizona failed to adopt OSHA’s healthcare COVID-19 emergency temporary standard (ETS). The Industrial Commission of Arizona […]
California’s nonemergency COVID-19 prevention regulations (California Code of Regulations Title 8 sections 3205 through 3205.3) took effect February 3 following approval by the state’s Office of Administrative Law. The new regulations, which take the place of the state’s emergency temporary standards (ETSs), remain in effect through February 3, 2025, and recordkeeping provisions of the rules […]
An individual or a team submitting an innovative respirator fit-testing concept could receive $350,000 in a challenge announced January 10 by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). The challenge attempts to address two problems with respirator fit testing: Small and disadvantaged businesses often lack the resources needed to comply with the Occupational […]
The rate of fatal workplace injuries increased in 2021 from the rate in 2020 and the pre-pandemic rate in 2019, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported December 16. There were 5,190 fatal work injuries in the United States in 2021, according to the bureau’s Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI)—an 8.9% increase from 4,764 […]
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) will proceed with three rulemakings focused on the healthcare industry—standards for COVID-19, infectious diseases, and workplace violence—the Department of Labor (DOL) announced as part of the fall 2022 unified regulatory agenda unveiled January 4. The agency also is moving forward with developing a federal heat illness prevention standard, […]
Protective service occupations (public safety) had the highest rate of deaths from COVID-19 at 60 deaths per 100,000 workers, according to a new study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Division of Vital Statistics. The industry with the highest death rate was accommodation and food services, with 55 deaths per 100,000 workers. […]
On December 15, the California Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board adopted nonemergency COVID-19 prevention regulations. The state’s COVID-19 Prevention Emergency Temporary Standards (ETSs) remain in effect while the Office of Administrative Law (OAL) reviews the nonemergency regulations. The OAL has 30 days to conduct its review, but once approved, the nonemergency rules remain in […]