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President Joe Biden’s administration is ardently increasing its efforts to get more Americans vaccinated against COVID-19 as the coronavirus Delta variant rages across the country. Over the past several weeks, the White House has been gradually releasing sweeping COVID-19-related mandates. These include vaccine mandates for nursing home employees, federal workers and federal contractors. The government…

One of the nation’s largest pipelines was forced to shut down in early May 2021 after falling victim to a ransomware attack. The 5,500-mile pipeline is operated by Colonial Pipeline and carries refined gasoline and jet fuel from Texas to New York. This pipeline transports 45% of the east coast’s fuel supplies. The attack—carried out…

On Thursday, Sept. 9, 2021, President Joe Biden signed executive orders requiring federal workers and contractors to get vaccinated against COVID-19. Biden also directed the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to draft a new emergency rule requiring all businesses with 100 or more employees to ensure all of their workers are either tested for…

Critical infrastructure cyberattacks are increasing in frequency according to Advisen’s loss database, and some experts are worried the worst is yet to come. There are sixteen industry sectors in the United States that make up the country’s critical infrastructure. These sectors are considered so vital their incapacitation or destruction would have a debilitating effect on…

On July 29, 2021, President Biden announced new actions to strengthen safety protocols for federal employees and federal contractors. This announcement was not an executive order, but does impose new requirements for federal employees and contractors. Every federal government employee and on-site contractor is now required to disclose their vaccination status. Federal employees and contractors…

An employer receives a written citation when it violates OSHA standards or regulations. The citation will describe the particular nature of the violation and will include a reference to the provision of the chapter, standard, rule, regulation or order the employer violated. In addition, the citation will provide a reasonable amount of time for the…

A business contingency plan enables businesses to stay functional in adverse conditions, such as major technical issues, natural disasters, or other unexpected occurrences. These plans are often thought of as emergency action plans or disaster recovery plans, but business contingency plans go well beyond natural disasters. A well-constructed plan can mean the difference between staying in business…

Each year, more than 5,000 workers are killed on the job. Additionally, more than 3.6 million employees are seriously injured each year while at work. Because of this, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) holds a nationwide event each August called Safe and Sound Week, which promotes the importance of companies incorporating safety and…

According to OSHA, millions of employees across the country are exposed to heat within their workplaces. Employees can encounter occupational heat exposure in both indoor (e.g., kitchens, boiler rooms, manufacturing plants and warehouses) and outdoor (e.g., construction and landscaping sites, oil or gas wells and farms) work environments. Without the proper precautions in place, occupational…

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) Hazard Communication Standard (HCS) outlines requirements regarding labels and Safety Data Sheets (SDSs) for hazardous workplace chemicals throughout the United States. To align its requirements with the United Nation’s Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals (GHS), OSHA recently issued a proposed rule to update the…