Audit, Compliance and Risk Blog

Director Found Liable for Transferring Assets

Posted by Ron Davis on Tue, Sep 01, 2015

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Tags: Corporate Governance, Business & Legal, Canadian

EEOC’s Latest Word On “Sex” Discrimination

Posted by Jon Elliott on Tue, Aug 25, 2015

Federal laws prohibit employers from basing employment decisions on a variety of factors, including “sex.” This term is not defined, leaving its interpretation to change and expand with social changes and court decisions. The central entity creating and applying these interpretations is the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), which administers and enforces Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and a variety of subsequent laws. On July 15, EEOC reaffirmed its present interpretation, in an enforcement decision in which the plaintiff claimed he was denied access to a promotion because he’s gay (Baldwin v. Foxx). The EEOC’s order includes a clear summary of the agency’s approach to sex discrimination cases:

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Tags: Corporate Governance, Business & Legal, Employer Best Practices, Employee Rights, Workplace violence, EEOC, NLRB

OSHA Proposes To Expand Enforceability Of Injury And Illness Reporting Requirements

Posted by Jon Elliott on Tue, Aug 18, 2015

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has just proposed to revise its requirement that employers prepare and maintain records of occupational injuries and illnesses as they occur – in “I&I Logs.” (I blogged about these requirements here). Employers must also post annual I&I Summaries in each workplace, and respond to survey questions if asked by OSHA or the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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Tags: Employer Best Practices, Health & Safety, OSHA, Employee Rights, Environmental risks, Environmental, EHS, Hazcom

OSHA Narrows Process Safety Management Exclusion For Retail Facilities

Posted by Jon Elliott on Tue, Aug 11, 2015

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) adopted its Standard for Process Safety Management of Highly Hazardous Chemicals (usually referred to as “PSM”) in 1992, to require extensive risk assessment and reduction efforts by facilities where a significant chemical incident might have catastrophic consequences. OSHA has made only minor technical revisions in the ensuing two decades. However, during that time OSHA has issued a series of regulatory interpretations and enforcement guidelines that affect how the Standard is implemented.

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Tags: Health & Safety, Environmental risks, Environmental, Hazcom

Should You Pay Your Interns?

Posted by Jon Elliott on Tue, Aug 04, 2015

Since it’s the middle of summer, you may have interns working in your office. If so, are they being paid for their efforts, are they receiving academic credits, or are they working to build their resumes, portfolios and connections? Some employers always pay, some never do, and some are open to negotiations based on the intern and his or her activities.

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Tags: Business & Legal, Employer Best Practices, Employee Rights

Divided Supreme Court Vacates EPA Fossil Fuel Power Plants Rule

Posted by Jon Elliott on Tue, Jul 28, 2015

Late in June the U.S. Supreme Court issued its latest ruling on the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) efforts to implement the Clean Air Act (CAA). This time a sharply divided Court voted 5 to 4 to vacate EPA’s attempt to regulate hazardous air pollutant (HAP) emissions from fossil fuel-fired electricity power plants. The justices split over when during a decade-spanning, multi-phase rulemaking did CAA require EPA to calculate the costs and benefits of regulation—the Court majority ruled that this calculation should have occurred in the first round, rejecting EPA’s decision to do so later in the rulemaking sequence.

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Tags: Environmental risks, Environmental, EPA, Hazcom, Oil & Gas

Valley Fever Endemic in Central California

Posted by STP Editorial Team on Thu, Jul 23, 2015

Valley fever is an illness that usually affects the lungs and is caused by the microscopic fungus known as Coccidiodes immitis, which lives in the top two to twelve inches of soil. While the fungal spores may be present in soils throughout California, they are endemic in the Central Valley counties of Fresno, Kern, Kings, Madera, Merced, San Luis Obispo, and Tulare.

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Tags: Employer Best Practices, Health & Safety, Employee Rights, California Legislation, Environmental risks, Environmental, EHS

EPA Revises Underground Storage Tank Regulations

Posted by Jon Elliott on Tue, Jul 21, 2015

It’s been more than 30 years since the U.S. Congress enacted national underground storage tank (UST) requirements (federal UST Law) in 1984. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published extensive UST regulations in 1988, establishing technical requirements for the following:

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Tags: Environmental risks, Environmental, EPA, Underground Storage Tanks, Hazcom

Avoid Workplace Violence With Info From OSHA

Posted by STP Editorial Team on Thu, Jul 16, 2015

When the majority of people hear the word “violence” they think of physical assault. Of course we know that acts of violence go beyond the physical to include any act in which a person is abused, threatened, intimidated, or assaulted. Every year almost two million U.S. workers report having been victimized by acts of workplace violence, yet many cases still go unreported. Workplace violence is a much bigger problem than many people realize, and it can happen anywhere at any time, and everyone is at risk.

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Tags: Business & Legal, Employer Best Practices, Health & Safety, Employee Rights, Workplace violence, criminal background checks

DHS Prepares To Expedite Approval Of Chemical Facility Site Safety Plans

Posted by Jon Elliott on Tue, Jul 14, 2015

Late in May 2015, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued guidelines under which qualifying chemical facilities can apply for expedited approval of site safety plans (SSPs) intended to protect the facilities against criminal or terrorist activity. These guidelines respond to a Congressional requirement included in amendments adopted in December 2014 to DHS’ Chemical Facility Anti-terrorism Standards (CFATS) program.

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Tags: Health & Safety, Environmental risks, Environmental, Hazcom