As we settle into the second Trump administration, significant shifts are unfolding within the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). For employers, understanding these changes is crucial to maintain compliance and ensure workplace safety.
Regulatory Freeze and Rulemaking Halts
One of the administration’s first moves was issuing a “Regulatory Freeze Pending Review,” effectively pausing several
According to CBIA’s 2021 Connecticut Manufacturing Report, “nearly nine in 10 (88%) of manufacturers report difficulties finding and retaining workers, a 17-point jump from last year, and 41% describe the labor shortage as the state’s main obstacle to growth.”
Manufacturers are confronting this obstacle head on, offering training programs and investing in a variety
This week marked a turning point in the COVID-19 Pandemic: the arrival of the first vaccines. Now that the vaccines are finally coming (through much of 2021), employers have many questions to ask themselves and will have many questions to answer from employees. On Wednesday, December 16, 2020, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission started to
As we discussed in prior posts, the CARES Act made five significant changes to unemployment benefits in response to the COVID-19 pandemic:
On Tuesday, April 7, 2020, Governor Lamont issued his latest Executive Order (7V) mandating new workplace safety rules to be promulgated by the Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD) and the Department of Public Health (DPH). Shortly thereafter, the new rules were released. For essential businesses, these new rules should be implemented immediately. Also
The CARES Act made significant changes to unemployment benefits in response to the COVID pandemic. As we explained in our March 31, 2020 update, this included expanding unemployment benefits to those who were not previously eligible (e.g. self-employed individuals or employees of religious schools), extending benefits for 13 additional weeks, and eliminating the one-week
On March 27, 2020, President Trump signed the “Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act.” The CARES Act makes significant changes to the unemployment compensation structure for all employers, including governmental entities and non-profit organizations. The CARES Act also implements a Paycheck Protection Program, which is designed to provide a direct incentive for small businesses
On March 1, 2020, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) will be implementing a new electronic registration process as part of its annual H-1B Cap Lottery. Given that the upcoming Fiscal Year 2021 (“FY2021”) H-1B Cap Lottery will be the first to be conducted using this new registration process, U. S. employers seeking to
United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) has published a final rule increasing the fee to use its Premium Processing Service from $1,410 to $1,440. The new fee will take effect on December 2, 2019, and requests for Premium Processing postmarked on or after this date must include the new fee.
USCIS offers Premium Processing
A recent Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) memorandum may help employers in finding ways to reduce workplace injuries, workers’ compensation claims, and lost time due to injuries. As outlined in the memorandum, employers will be able to carefully develop and implement safety incentive programs that reward employees for not having any reportable injuries in