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On August 1, 2026, Louisiana’s Behind the Counter Protection Act (LBCPA) will expand Louisiana’s existing labor and employment laws by establishing new employment provisions and criminal penalties for threats and acts of workplace violence committed against customer-facing workers. The law applies primarily to workers in retail stores, restaurants, convenience stores, gas stations, pharmacies, and similar customer-facing establishments.

Workplace Violence Defined…

Continue Reading Understanding Louisiana’s New Workplace Violence Law: Behind the Counter

Employers often approach workplace accidents and resulting OSHA citations as discrete regulatory events — managed by safety teams, resolved through settlement or litigation, and ultimately closed. As many employers come to learn, OSHA inspections and citations frequently serve as the entry point into a much broader and more complex risk landscape—one that can implicate criminal exposure, expand into multiple forms…

Continue Reading Not Just OSHA: Understanding the Expanding Web of Criminal, Civil, and Business Risks from Workplace Accidents

Seyfarth Synopsis: On June 22, 2026, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani signed Executive Order No. 17, Protecting Workers from Extreme Heat. The Executive Order, which took effect immediately, does not, standing alone, create a new private-sector heat standard. Instead, it directs City agencies to develop multilingual heat illness prevention guidance, adopt heat illness prevention plans for municipal…

Continue Reading New York City Executive Order Signals Forthcoming Heat Illness Requirements for Employers

Seyfarth Synopsis: Federal OSHA has proposed new rulemakings seek to minimize respiratory protection requirements for employers which may require employers to update practices in 2026.  

In June 2026, OSHA has advanced a proposal to amend the Respiratory Protection Standard (29 CFR 1910.134) and scheduled virtual public hearings on this and other proposed rulemakings.

1. What’s the Change to the Respiratory …

Continue Reading OSHA Proposes New Rules on Respiratory Protection and 20 Other Standards

Seyfarth Synopsis: Virginia passes heat illness statute to develop VOSH heat illness standards regulating private employers by May 1, 2028.

With the federal OSHA heat illness standard in rulemaking limbo, the Commonwealth of Virginia officially joined the growing list of states taking workplace heat illness prevention into their own hands. With the Governor’s approval of SB 288 on April 13…

Continue Reading Don’t Sweat It: New Virginia Heat Illness Standards on the Horizon

Seyfarth Synopsis: The California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (“Cal/OSHA”) has issued a proposed regulation (Section 331.8. Representatives during the Inspection) that allows employees to designate a representative, including another employee, a third party, or the collective bargaining representative, during workplace safety inspections conducted by Cal/OSHA.

The California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (“Cal/OSHA”) issued a Notice of…

Continue Reading Cal/OSHA’s Proposed “Walkaround Rule” Welcomes Unions into Private California Workplaces: Key Takeaways for California Employers

Seyfarth Synopsis: California and New York will soon be requiring Narcan in some workplace first aid kits. While Narcan provides a meaningful, prompt, and potentially lifesaving response to opioid overdoses, effective implementation of a Narcan program may require employee training and an expanded first aid response structure.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimated 54,000 to 57,000 opioid‑related…

Continue Reading Preventing Workplace Overdose Deaths — New York and California Plan Narcan (Naloxone) Requirements

Seyfarth Synopsis: Employers often fail to appreciate the ramifications of industrial hygiene data and medical records. Even non-detect records must be maintained for 30+ years and provided to employees or representatives upon request.

OSHA’s Access to Employee Exposure and Medical Records standard, 29 CFR § 1910.1020, is one of the most frequently misunderstood — and quietly enforced — provisions in…

Continue Reading Employee Exposure Records and Medical Records: Avoiding OSHA Citations and Defending Against Future Workers’ Compensation, Tort, and ADA Claims

Under OSHA’s General Duty Clause, employers must provide a workplace free from recognized hazards likely to cause serious injury or death. OSHA regulations require PPE and respiratory protection where necessitated by the hazards at the workplace. Infectious diseases represent a recognized hazard at many workplaces across the United States (particularly in healthcare) and employers must implement appropriate procedures to protect…

Continue Reading Navigating the New Public Health Environment: How Employers Should Approach CDC and NIOSH Guidance on Health Hazards in the Trump Administration

Seyfarth Synopsis: New York requires hospitals and nursing home employers to implement written workplace violence prevention plans, including hazard assessments, training, and incident logging within the year.

Health care employers have long faced liabilities relating to workplace violence, most commonly from patients and visitors.  Although no federal OSHA standards currently provide requirements for workplace violence in health care (though…

Continue Reading New York Latest State to Institute Workplace Violence Prevention Program Requirements for Hospitals and Nursing Homes