In this podcast, John Surma and Frank Davis are joined by Ryan Swink to discuss Texas’s Senate Bill (SB) 240—which imposes workplace violence requirements on covered healthcare facilities. Specifically, SB 240, which is also known as the Workplace Violence Prevention Act, requires health care facilities to adopt, implement, and enforce written workplace violence prevention programs and written prevention plans. The law also requires covered health care facilities to create workplace violence prevention committees and authorizes existing facility committees to develop a workplace violence prevention plan. The speakers also discuss how the new law interplays with Texas’s law on the open carry of firearms.

In this podcast, John Surma and Frank Davis (both of whom are members of Ogletree Deakins’ Workplace Safety and Health Practice Group) discuss Rapid Response Investigations (RRIs), a tool that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is using with increasing frequency. Frank and John review best practices for employer response to RRI letters, including the importance of timeliness; the utility of including a robust description of the employer’s business or industry and safety program; and a discussion on which employees to include on the employer’s investigation team.

In this podcast, John Surma and Frank Davis, members of Ogletree Deakins’ Workplace Safety and Health Practice Group discuss unprogrammed inspections conducted by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). Frank and John provide an overview of the four triggers of such inspections: imminent danger; fatalities and catastrophes; complaints by employees, unions, or third parties; and referrals by other agencies. They also offer practical takeaways for employers that may be subject to an unprogrammed inspection.

This episode of Multistate Monday offers an informative overview of the Providing Urgent Maternal Protections for Nursing Mothers Act (PUMP Act) and the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA). Dee Anna Hays, chair of Ogletree Deakins’ Multistate Advice and Counseling Practice Group, and Susan Gorey are joined by Christine Bestor Townsend, who fields as host of questions about employer obligations under the PUMP Act and the PWFA. Christine offers practical takeaways regarding interaction with other federal laws, including the Americans with Disabilities Act, as well as state and local lactation laws. She also reviews coverage, enforcement and remedies, and pointers for developing well-defined and compliant policies for both acts.

In this podcast, John Surma and Frank Davis, members of Ogletree Deakins’ Workplace Safety and Health Practice Group, discuss the various types of citations that are issued by the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). In particular, Frank and John discuss what employers are required to do once they receive a citation, possible options on responding to citations, and employers’ response and abatement deadlines. John and Frank also discuss how employers can challenge a citation, how and when employers may decide to file a notice of contest, and whether to schedule an informal conference with OSHA.

It has been an eventful year for U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). In this podcast, Awanti Damle and Kara Lancaster, members of Ogletree Deakins’ Immigration Practice Group, provide a rapid-fire and informative summary of the top five immigration topics for employers. Awanti and Kara discuss proposed increases in filing fees for certain visa petitions, including H-1B and L-1 petitions, and the phased expansion of premium processing for some nonimmigrant and immigrant visa types. They also provide insight on pay transparency laws applicable for employers recruiting foreign nationals, the waiver of an in-person interview in the visa stamping process for some types of applications, and whether there will be an additional selection round in the annual H-1B lottery.

The U.S. labor secretary and assistant secretary of labor for occupational safety and health recently signed a memorandum giving the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) authority to issue certifications supporting applications for U and T nonimmigrant status visas (which are related to certain crimes and forms of human trafficking). In this podcast, John Surma is joined by Leigh Ganchan, who is a member of Ogletree Deakins’ Immigration Practice Group, to discuss what these visas are, how they have traditionally been used, wait times for these visas to be granted, and the status of applicants while these visa cases are processed. John and Leigh also discuss how the new memorandum could come into play in many OSHA inspections because one of the qualifying activities is “obstruction of justice,” which OSHA may claim if an employer fails to cooperate with a compliance officer.

In this podcast, John Surma and Frank Davis, members of Ogletree’s Workplace Safety and Health Practice Group, discuss hazard alert letters (HAL) issued by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). John and Frank review circumstances under which a HAL might be issued, including deviation from industry standards, and what employers may want to consider when responding to a HAL. The podcast concludes with a review of abatement verification inspections and interim abatements.

In this podcast, Susan Gorey and Dee Anna Hays, who is chair of Ogletree Deakins’ Multistate Advice and Counseling Practice Group, are joined by Tae Phillips, who is a co-chair of the firm’s Drug Testing Practice Group. Tae reviews the many issues facing employers as the number of states legalizing the use of medical and recreational marijuana grows. He provides best practices for managing the complex framework of state marijuana laws and discusses issues surrounding job protections for marijuana users, reasonable suspicion drug testing, and what employers can expect in the future.

In this podcast, members of Ogletree Deakins’ Workplace Safety and Health Practice Group discuss workplace violence, with a focus on healthcare settings. John Surma, Wayne Pinkstone, and Phillip Jones review the duty to provide a hazard-free workplace and guidance provided by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). They also address how workplace violence incidents may lead to a violation of the Occupational Safety and Health Act’s General Duty Clause. Karen Tynan, chair of Ogletree’s West Coast OSHA practice, joins the conversation to discuss Cal/OSHA’s approach to the threat of workplace violence, the need to address environmental risk factors, and abatement of a hazardous condition after an incident.