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The COVID-19 outbreak is at top of mind for environment, health, and safety (EHS) professionals nationwide.
Despite rising COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations driven by the delta variant, executive leaders are pushing toward a post-pandemic return-to-work model that puts employees in the office at least two days a week. HR and IT/security professionals have been feeling squeezed between a rock and a hard place trying to meet workforce health, safety, technology, data […]
Employer vaccine requirements have increased worker vaccination rates by 35%, according to a report released September 29 by the National Safety Council (NSC) highlighting lessons learned from employer responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. The report collected data from a sample of 300 U.S.-based employers and 3,785 individuals in surveys and interviews conducted between June and […]
Like you, we had hoped COVID-19-related issues would have waned by now and we could all move forward with a return to “normal.” Not so fast, apparently, as the disease’s delta variant has surged, and tensions between the pro- and antivaccination contingents have heightened. More employers are taking charge of the coronavirus narrative at work, […]
How is it that President Joe Biden can order the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to establish an emergency rule that requires employers to vaccinate all their employees or test them for COVID-19? Is this normal? How does OSHA even have that kind of authority? Like much since the COVID-19 pandemic was first declared […]
In a September 13 letter to President Joe Biden, the Consumer Brands Association called for immediate clarification on the president’s COVID-19 response plan, especially plans for employers to require vaccination or weekly testing of their employees. “Our country’s ability to increase vaccination rates hinges on federal agencies offering clear, detailed, and timely guidance in hours, […]
On September 6, 2021, New York Governor Kathy Hochul announced the state health commissioner had formally designated COVID-19 as a “highly contagious communicable disease that presents a serious risk of harm to the public health” under the state’s Health and Essential Rights Act (HERO Act). The Act imposes significant occupational health and safety obligations on […]
President Joe Biden’s announcement of a new action plan aimed at curbing the COVID-19 pandemic will create new requirements for certain employers, and the rules have employers asking what they need to do, when they need to comply, and the consequences for noncompliance. Biden’s plan, announced September 9, is a six-pronged approach that includes an […]
On September 9, 2021, President Joseph Biden issued an Executive Order mandating COVID-19 vaccines for all federal workers and won’t allow a testing-out option for those who refuse. They will have 75 days to get the shots or face adverse administrative action. Moreover, the mandate is expected to affect all private-sector entities with federal contracts. President Biden […]
On episode 78 of EHS On Tap, Camille Oakes, president and CEO of Better Safety, talks about how COVID-19 is impacting employers.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) will soon issue an emergency temporary standard (ETS) requiring employers with 100 or more employees to ensure their employees are vaccinated against COVID-19 or provide weekly negative tests. The rule will be issued as part of President Joe Biden’s six-point national strategy, announced September 9, to combat the […]