Legally speaking, working from home blurs line between ‘work' and ‘home'
The COVID-19 pandemic has forced businesses across Arkansas to transition from a traditional office environment to remote work. With flu season approaching and an increasing number of COVID-19 cases, many employers will continue to allow their employees to work from home for the foreseeable future…
Impacts of the Coronavirus Pandemic on State and Local Air Compliance Monitoring Activities: U.S. EPA Office of Inspector General Project Notification
December 17, 2020
by Walter G. Wright, Jr.
The United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) Office of Inspector General (“OIG”) issued a December 14th Project Notification titled: Impacts of the Coronavirus Pandemic on State and Local Air Compliance Monitoring Activities (“Notification”) See Project No. OE-FY21-0065. The…
OSHA Enforcement: 144 Establishments/$2,025,431 in Coronavirus Penalties Proposed
The United States Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) announced in an October 30th news release it has proposed $2,025,431 penalties through October 22nd for alleged violations related to the Coronavirus. The penalties are related to citations for 144 establishments. The alleged…
Arkansas Water Operator Licensing/COVID-19: Arkansas Department of Health Announces Training Hours Waiver
Mr. Jeff Stone, P.E., of the Arkansas Department of Health (“DOH”), announced in an article in the Fall 2020 edition of the publication Arkansas Drinking Water Update that: . . . Due to the effects of the pandemic upon the availability of water operator training, the requirement of obtaining…
CDC's New Definition of "Close Contact" Impacts Contact Tracing in Workplaces
October 22, 2020
by Nathan A. Read
On October 21, 2020, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (“CDC”) expanded the definition of “close contact” for contact tracing purposes. The CDC previously defined close contact as 15 consecutive minutes within six feet of an infected person. The new definition still uses 15 minutes as…