By Adam R. Young, Jennifer L. Mora, and Craig B. Simonsen
Seyfarth Synopsis: Across nationwide testing, marijuana positivity rates for 2022 reached 4.3% (up from 2.7% in 2017), with biggest gains found in states that legalized recreational marijuana.
Impairment and related safety hazards have been disrupting the workplace resulting in lost time, absenteeism, safety hazards, and serious industrial
Continue Reading High Times: Marijuana Positivity in Workplace Drug Tests Reaches 25-Year RecordBy Jennifer L. Mora and Adam R. Young
Seyfarth Synopsis: Employers considering a tolerant attitude towards recreational cannabis in the workplace should consider safety hazards and legal liabilities.
In the heyday of the two-martini lunch, employers regularly tolerated alcohol in the workplace or employees presumably impaired by alcohol returning to work. Over the succeeding decades, employers began to concentrate
Continue Reading Weed at Work: Should Employers Expand “Alcohol at Work” to Cover Recreational Cannabis?
By Ilana R. Morady and James L. Curtis
Seyfarth Synopsis: Effective January 1, 2020, Cal/OSHA is revising its injury reporting obligations to be more aligned with the injury reporting obligations under federal OSHA.
As most employers with California operations know, Cal/OSHA has unique injury/illness reporting requirements that differ from the Federal OSHA reporting requirements. These differences are important, and
Continue Reading Changes to Cal/OSHA Reporting Requirements Go Into Effect January 1, 2020
By: James L. Curtis and Adam R. Young
Seyfarth Synopsis: The National Safety Council released a policy statement endorsing employer zero-tolerance policies for cannabis use for employees who work in safety-sensitive positions, explaining that no level of cannabis is safe.
Unlike a test for Blood Alcohol Content, testing results for Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) metabolites (the psychoactive components of cannabis)
Continue Reading National Safety Council Endorses Zero Tolerance Prohibition on Cannabis/Marijuana for Safety-Sensitive Employees
By Frederick T. Smith and Adam R. Young
Seyfarth Synopsis: On January 10, 2019 Seyfarth Shaw LLP’s Labor & Employment and Workplace Safety and Health Teams will present a webinar on OSHA’s New Standard Interpretation clarifying the requirements on workplace drug testing.
In 2016, federal OSHA called into question many common workplace drug testing policies that contained post-accident testing
Continue Reading Webinar on Workplace Drug Testing: OSHA’s New Standard Interpretation that Clarifies the Requirements
By Joshua M. Henderson, Ilana R. Morady, James L. Curtis, and Craig B. Simonsen
Seyfarth Synopsis: On November 6, 2018, the California Office of Administrative Law approved Cal/OSHA’s emergency regulation for the electronic submission of CY 2017 Form 300A on Occupational Injuries and Illnesses. Covered employers will be required to submit their Forms to Federal OSHA
Continue Reading Emergency Regulation Approved! Electronic Submission of CY 2017 Form 300A Required by December 31, 2018 for California Employers
By Joshua M. Henderson, Ilana R. Morady, James L. Curtis, and Craig B. Simonsen
Seyfarth Synopsis: CalOSHA published a news release TODAY, on a new emergency regulation for the electronic submission of CY 2017 Form 300A on Occupational Injuries and Illnesses. CalOSHA submitted the rule yesterday, and will allow public comments until Tuesday, October 30th, with
Continue Reading Attention California Employers! Cal/OSHA Issues Notice of Emergency Regulation for Electronic Submission of CY 2017 Form 300A by December 31, 2018
By Mark A. Lies, II, Brent I. Clark, Adam R. Young, and Craig B. Simonsen
Seyfarth Synopsis: OSHA has just issued a Standard Interpretation clarifying the Obama-era guidance that prohibited incentive programs and circumscribed post-incident drug testing; “Clarification of OSHA’s Position on Workplace Safety Incentive Programs and Post-Incident Drug Testing Under 29 C.F.R. §1904.35(b)(1)(iv).”
We previously
Continue Reading OSHA Clarifies Position on Lawful Post-Incident Drug Testing and Reverses Course on Safety Incentive Programs
By Joshua M. Henderson, Ilana R. Morady, and Craig B. Simonsen
Seyfarth Synopsis: Last week, Governor Brown signed into law Assembly Bill No. 2334, Occupational Injuries and Illness, Employer Reporting Requirements, and Electronic Submission.
A six-month statute of limitations period currently applies to all citations issued under Cal/OSHA. Assembly Bill 2334 will allow the California Division
Continue Reading California Enacts New Record-Keeping Mandates in Response to Changing Federal Program
By James L. Curtis, Kay R. Bonza, and Craig B. Simonsen
Seyfarth Synopsis: OSHA today published a proposed rule to amend the injury and illness recordkeeping rules by rescinding the requirement for establishments with 250 or more employees to electronically submit information from OSHA Forms 300 and 301. OSHA is amending provisions of the “Improve Tracking of
Continue Reading Roller Coaster Rulemaking: OSHA Publishes Proposed Rule to Reduce Injury and Illness Electronic Reporting Requirements