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News stories continue to reveal the devastating aftermath from Hurricane Ida, which made landfall in Louisiana on August 29, 2021. The storm’s death toll has reached 84 deaths across eight states, including fatalities as far north as Pennsylvania, Connecticut, New York, and New Jersey due to severe flooding from the storm. Some areas in Louisiana […]
In a September 13 letter to President Joe Biden, the Consumer Brands Association called for immediate clarification on the president’s COVID-19 response plan, especially plans for employers to require vaccination or weekly testing of their employees. “Our country’s ability to increase vaccination rates hinges on federal agencies offering clear, detailed, and timely guidance in hours, […]
On September 6, 2021, New York Governor Kathy Hochul announced the state health commissioner had formally designated COVID-19 as a “highly contagious communicable disease that presents a serious risk of harm to the public health” under the state’s Health and Essential Rights Act (HERO Act). The Act imposes significant occupational health and safety obligations on […]
In our latest installment of Ask the Expert, brought to you by the team of industry experts at EHS Hero®, we look at a recent question from a subscriber asking about whether companies must have first responders on staff. See what the experts had to say. Q: Are all companies required to have first responders […]
President Joe Biden’s announcement of a new action plan aimed at curbing the COVID-19 pandemic will create new requirements for certain employers, and the rules have employers asking what they need to do, when they need to comply, and the consequences for noncompliance. Biden’s plan, announced September 9, is a six-pronged approach that includes an […]
On September 9, 2021, President Joseph Biden issued an Executive Order mandating COVID-19 vaccines for all federal workers and won’t allow a testing-out option for those who refuse. They will have 75 days to get the shots or face adverse administrative action. Moreover, the mandate is expected to affect all private-sector entities with federal contracts. President Biden […]
The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (Mass SJC) ruled on August 31 that the local conservation commission can sue new owners of real estate to require them to restore wetlands that were filled illegally, even decades after the illegal filling occurred. With this ruling in Conservation Comm’n of Norton v. Pesa, SJC-13058, the triggering event becomes […]
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) will soon issue an emergency temporary standard (ETS) requiring employers with 100 or more employees to ensure their employees are vaccinated against COVID-19 or provide weekly negative tests. The rule will be issued as part of President Joe Biden’s six-point national strategy, announced September 9, to combat the […]
Back to Basics is a weekly feature that highlights important but possibly overlooked information that any EHS professional should know. This week, we examine how to assess your readiness to return to business after a power outage. The last few months have seen plenty of severe weather events: Hurricanes, tornadoes, forest fires, and extended rainstorms […]
In the past 250 years, the world has experienced four industrial revolutions. The first (1765) started what became modern industry with the combination of water and heat to use steam to power mechanized production – the steam engine. The second, 100 years later in 1870, began with the advancement of some of our most used […]