Given the current economic stressors affecting the fossil fuel industry, there is growing political interest in investment policies that financial institutions are applying to that industry. On May 7, Republican lawmakers penned a letter to the Trump Administration that cited the economic instability of the COVID‑19 pandemic as the basis for a request for regulatory … Continue Reading
On April 26, 2020, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the US Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued interim guidance for the US meat and poultry industry. The guidance contains a number of recommendations aimed at stemming transmission among workers in this particularly vulnerable industry, which continues to face plant … Continue Reading
In a little over a couple of months, the COVID-19 outbreak has dramatically altered the landscape of business. Companies are struggling to cope with massive uncertainty and an array of unforeseen challenges, including everything from supply chain and revenue disruptions caused by reduced consumer demand, to staffing shortages, travel restrictions, business closures, and other such … Continue Reading
Over the past several months, the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has steadily issued guidance to both employers and agency officials on strategies to navigate regulatory matters related to the COVID-19 pandemic, as we have discussed here, here, here, here, and here. However, federal OSHA is not the only government agency addressing the … Continue Reading
While COVID-19 has turned everyone’s focus toward safety and health generally, it has forced US employers specifically to focus on the safety and health of their employees during an unprecedented time. Employers in the US have common law and statutory duties to ensure safe workplaces, but the COVID-19 pandemic has greatly disrupted many of the … Continue Reading
One of the biggest questions plaguing employers during the COVID-19 pandemic is whether or not to provide employees with respirators—the holy grail of all personal protective equipment (PPE) at this time. On March 11, 2020, the White House issued a Presidential Memorandum, entitled “Making General Use Respirators Available,” which mandated all necessary efforts by the … Continue Reading
Since the COVID-19 pandemic first hit the United States in early 2020, the US Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has been issuing COVID-19 guidance to employers on appropriate ways to address the pandemic, as we previously discussed here, here, and here. The guidance has mirrored recommendations coming from the Centers for Disease Control and … Continue Reading
Among the myriad concerns facing industry, many are confronting new environmental challenges caused by staffing issues, essential business determinations, stay-at-home orders, supply chain disruption and other complications from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Environmental regulators are aware of these challenges and, in many cases, have shared valuable guidance on how to mitigate related compliance problems and … Continue Reading
On March 26, 2020, US EPA Assistant Administrator, Susan Bodine, authored and released guidance to all governmental and private sector entities entitled “COVID-19 Implications for EPA’s Enforcement and Compliance Assurance Program.” The seven-page guidance memorandum outlines the Agency’s “temporary” policy governing issues of noncompliance that arise (1) as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and … Continue Reading
Last week, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued guidance to the heads of federal departments and agencies titled, “Federal Agency Operational Alignment to Slow the Spread of Coronavirus COVID-19.” The guidance directs agencies to “prioritize all resources to slow the transmission of COVID-19, while ensuring our mission-critical activities continue.” Under the guidance, agencies … Continue Reading
The US Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) has issued a list of nearly 300 disinfectants that have qualified for use against SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that causes COVID-19. The list can be found here. According to US EPA, the disinfectants on the list have not been tested specifically against SARS-CoV-2, but they are expected to be … Continue Reading
Coronaviruses are a common family of viruses, and one of the main causes of the common cold. In late December 2019, a new coronavirus was identified in China with the potential to cause severe respiratory illness. The disease caused as a result of infection by the new coronavirus has been named COVID-19. During 2020, the … Continue Reading
The coronavirus, and the illness caused by the coronavirus, COVID-19, are dominating headlines, stock markets and daily conversation. They are also raising many questions—and employers in the U.S. are facing one such critical question: How do we help ensure the health and safety of our employees? Squire Patton Boggs helps provide some answers below.… Continue Reading
