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OSHA has partially reopened the rulemaking record and scheduled an informal public hearing to seek comments on several topics relating to the development of a final standard to protect healthcare and healthcare support service workers from workplace exposure to COVID-19. In June of last year, OSHA issued an Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) to protect workers in healthcare settings from occupational exposure to the virus. This ETS also served as a proposed rule and focused on healthcare workers most likely to have contact with people infected with the virus.
Continue Reading OSHA Taking Comments on Proposed Permanent Healthcare COVID-19 Standard

On March 8, 2022, OSHA released an enforcement memorandum detailing a new initiative involving a short-term increase in highly focused inspections directed at hospitals and skilled nursing care facilities that treat or handle COVID-19 patients. The goal of this initiative is to ensure continued mitigation to control the spread of COVID-19 and future variants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus and protect the health and safety of healthcare workers who are at heightened risk for contracting the virus. This short-term initiative is a supplement to OSHA’s targeted enforcement under the COVID-19 National Emphasis Program (NEP), focusing on follow-up and monitoring inspections of hospitals and skilled nursing care facilities previously inspected or investigated by OSHA. It is also coming as yet-to-be released proposed permanent OSHA regulations to protect health-care workers from COVID-19 are under review at the White House’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, which is typically one of the last steps before regulations are enacted.
Continue Reading OSHA Announces COVID-19 Enforcement Initiative for Hospitals and Nursing Care Facilities

On November 4, 2021, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued heavily anticipated emergency regulations requiring COVID-19 vaccination of eligible staff at health care facilities that participate in the Medicare and Medicaid programs. CMS issued an Interim Final Rule (IFR) in response to the COVID-19 “Path out of the Pandemic” Action Plan announced by President Biden on September 9, 2021, that per CMS is intended to protect the health and safety of residents, patients and staff at health care facilities. See our previous analysis of the Plan here.

Below please find key takeaways regarding the new COVID-19 vaccination requirements for health care facilities and staff:
Continue Reading CMS Issues Emergency Regulation Requiring COVID-19 Vaccination for Health Care Facility Workers

On September 9, 2021 President Biden announced a COVID-19 Action Plan entitled “Path out of the Pandemic” (the “Plan”) which comprises a six-pronged national strategy aimed at combatting COVID-19. The Plan includes a number of important provisions related to health care, including implementation of COVID-19 vaccine requirements and an expansion of resources available for treatment of COVID-19. The Plan signals significant changes upcoming for health care organizations, their employees, and their patients.

The following summary addresses certain parts of the Plan with specific implications for health care, but please continue to check R+C blogs and legal updates for follow-up analysis of the specific guidance and rules that are released in furtherance of the Plan.
Continue Reading Biden COVID-19 Action Plan Expands Vaccine Mandates, Testing, and Treatment to Combat Spread of Virus

On October 11, 2018, the Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) issued a memorandum to clarify its position regarding whether drug testing policies and safety incentive programs would be considered violations of OSHA’s regulations. Employers may recall that, in May 2016, OSHA published a final rule that, among other requirements, prohibited employers from retaliating against employees for reporting work-related injuries or illnesses. That portion of the final rule became known as the Anti-Retaliation Rule. Almost immediately, there was confusion over which workplace safety incentive programs and post-incident drug testing policies, if any, were permissible under the final rule. OSHA originally took the position that certain programs and policies could deter employees form reporting work-related injuries and illnesses, thus violating the Anti-Retaliation Rule. OSHA has now clarified that the Anti-Retaliation Rule does not prohibit workplace safety incentive programs and post-incident drug testing.
Continue Reading OSHA Clarifies Position On Anti-Retaliation Rule

Workplace violence is a risk at any health care workplace. Whether from patients, residents, clients, or employees. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) estimates that three quarters of all workplace assaults reported annually – approximately 19,000 – occurred in health care and social service settings.

While OSHA does not have any specific regulations addressing violence in the workplace, OSHA’s General Duty Clause applies to covered employers and requires they provide their employees with a place of employment that is “free from recognized hazards that are causing or are likely to cause death or serious harm.” It is OSHA’s position that the General Duty Clause imposes a legal obligation upon an employer to provide a workplace free of conditions or activities “that either the employer or industry recognizes as hazardous and that cause, or are likely to cause, death or serious physical harm to employees when there is a feasible method to abate the hazard.”

In recent years, OSHA has published guidelines to the health care community – Guidelines for Preventing Workplace Violence for Healthcare and Social Service Workers – with specific recommendations to prevent violence in health care workplaces. OSHA also has a webpage dedicated to workplace violence, which provides helpful guidance and training materials.

In an effort to further assist health care organizations better prevent and address violence in their workplaces, in April the Joint Commission released a Sentinel Event Alert addressing physical and verbal violence against health care workers. The Joint Commission accredits and certifies health care organizations and programs in the United States.Continue Reading Recent Joint Commission Guidance Recommends Steps for Health Care Organizations to Reduce Workplace Violence