OSHA issues emergency temporary standard to protect workers from coronavirus

The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration today announced a new emergency temporary standard [ETS] to protect more than 84 million workers from the spread of the coronavirus on the job. The ETS shifts payment responsibility for testing to workers which will impact risk costs for employers and may conflict with some Workers’ Compensation laws and the efficient administration of benefits.

Vaccine Mandate-EEOC: Employers that demonstrate “undue hardship” are not required to accommodate an employee’s request for a religious accommodation

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) declared that religious objectors to employer COVID-19 vaccine requirements need not be accommodated in certain circumstances.

Despite Potential Savings Most Medicare Part D Participants Don't Switch Plans

Most Medicare Part D participants don't switch plans even though they will save money. "Plan Stickiness" is a common phenomenon Kaiser Family Foundation reports:

Biden Administration Targets Occupational Exposure to PFAS

The Biden-Harris Administration announced accelerated efforts to protect American workers from per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), which can cause severe health problems and persist in the environment once released, posing a severe threat across rural, suburban, and urban areas. 

A Season of Storms: Assessing and Preparing for the Next Pandemic - The 20th Annual Law Firm COO & CFO Forum

A Season of Storms: Assessing and Preparing for the Next Pandemic 

Among the many sobering realities of the past 21 months is the growing chorus of medical personnel warning of the next pandemic. For many, it is less a question of if but when a novel zoonotic virus will make its presence known across the globe. Indeed, with SARS-CoV-2 just one of an estimated 500,000+ pathogens capable of spilling over from animal to human, the onus is on public health and government officials to proactively identify and curtail nascent threats—all while weathering the existing storm. 

Across Two Separate Settlements, EPA Commits to Expedite and Strengthen Asbestos Risk Reevaluation Under TSCA

The Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO), an independent nonprofit dedicated to preventing asbestos exposure, announced it had reached two landmark legal settlements with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that strengthen and broaden its work to evaluate the health risks of asbestos under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). 

COVID Boosters: What Employees and Employers Need to Know

Many employers and state governments are mandating that employees be vaccinated against COVID. Confusion remains over the rapidly changing landscape of booster doses as reports of waning or compromised immunity even though a worker is considered “fully vaccinated” when the original series of doses are completed.