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The Department of Justice announced criminal charges against an oilfield company, its vice president, and one of its contractors in connection with two deaths at a company facility in 2019.

Last month, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a $35,000 fine against an employer whose foreman, despite explicit instructions by a company manager to fix an Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) rules violation, allowed his crew member to work while the violation continued.

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, whose term as mayor ends on January 1, 2022, has announced that the city’s Department of Health will issue a mandate requiring full vaccination of any employee of a private sector business.

The new Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) emergency temporary standard mandating various COVID-19 policies and procedures for employers with at least 100 employees (“ETS”) has an uncertain future in light of recent legal challenges.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) has published its long-awaited emergency temporary standard (“ETS”) on COVID-19 vaccination, testing and face coverings, effective as of today (November 5, 2021), and applicable to employers with 100 or more employees.

The White House has announced that the requirement for covered employees at covered federal contractor workplaces to be fully vaccinated under the Safer Federal Workforce Task Force Guidance for Federal Contractors and Subcontractors (the “Contractor Guidance”) has been extended to January 4, 2022.

When Texas governor Greg Abbott issued an executive order on October 11th stating that no entity in Texas could compel receipt of a COVID-19 vaccination by “any individual, including an employee or a consumer” who objects for any reason of “personal conscience, based on a religious belief, or for medical reasons, including prior recovery from COVID-19,” he set the stage for a potential conflict with pre-existing executive orders issued by President Biden.

At this point, you’re probably aware that the Biden Administration’s COVID-19 Action Plan required all employers with 100 or more employees to ensure their workforce is fully vaccinated or require any workers who remain unvaccinated to produce a negative test result on at least a weekly basis before coming to work.

On September 9, 2021, the White House announced a series of actions intended to reduce the number of Americans who have not been vaccinated against COVID-19.

While many service, retail and factory workers returned to work several months ago, many employers with white-collar workers have been less inclined to mandate that employees return to the office.

Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) Region VI — which includes Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana and Arkansas — has established a new Regional Emphasis Program targeting worker exposure to hazards associated with the cleaning of transportation tanks.

On March 12, 2021, OSHA established a 12-month long “National Emphasis Program,” effecting an immediate emphasis on the enforcement of safety standards associated with COVID-19.