On July 9, 2021, Washington’s Department of Labor & Industries filed an emergency rule to increase protection for employees exposed to extreme heat at work.
The NY Department of Labor has published a series of documents including its Airborne Infectious Disease Exposure Prevention Standard, a Model Airborne Infectious Disease Exposure Prevention Plan, and 11 industry-specific template plans.
June 2021 culminated in the elimination of COVID-19 restrictions in Oregon and significant changes to the state’s employment laws during the 2021 legislative session.
On July 8, 2021, Oregon’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (Oregon OSHA) adopted emergency Heat Illness Prevention rules to establish workplace heat safety requirements that apply when temperatures in a work area reach or exceed 80 degrees.
On June 25, 2021, Oregon Governor Kate Brown signed an order lifting the vast majority of Oregon’s COVID-19 restrictions as of Wednesday, June 30, 2021.
The Santa Clara County, California Health Officer issued an order in May that included a first-of-its-kind vaccination benchmarking mandate. On June 21, 2021, the Health Officer issued another order, phasing out that mandate due to high vaccination rates.
In a recent case, the Ontario Court of Appeal upheld a jury’s $150,000 punitive damage award against an employer, where inadequate training and a supervisor's misconduct evidenced a company culture that did not sufficiently stress safety practices.
In a tremendous move toward pre-pandemic standards, Governor Whitmer announced that beginning June 22, 2021 nearly all COVID related orders will be lifted and Michigan will resume all activities.
On June 17, 2021, the California Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board voted and passed its latest set of proposed revisions to the COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standards Regulation, which took effect per an executive order by Governor Newsom.