On April 15, the European Parliament adopted a proposal to expand public company requirements to report accounting information, adding social responsibility and diversity reporting for companies that meet specified employee and revenue thresholds. The new directive provides targeted companies with flexibility to meet these rules by meeting national or voluntary standards that require at least equivalent reporting. To become law, the Commission's proposal must also be adopted by the European Union (EU) Member States in the Council (which votes by qualified majority); this is anticipated within the coming weeks.
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News from The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) Press Release Issued April 3, 2014
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climate change
On April 11, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals denied a petition by SeaWorld, which was seeking to overturn a citation and penalty issued by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) after a killer whale mauled and drowned one of the park’s trainers during a show (Seaworld of Florida, LLC v. Perez). OSHA had cited SeaWorld for violating the OSH Act’s Employer’s General Duty Clause, by failing to provide a workplace free of “free from recognized hazards that are causing or are likely to cause death or serious physical harm.” This decision reminds us that this often-neglected element of OSH compliance serves important worker safety goals.
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Bridget Gordon (“Gordon”) appealed a district court’s summary judgment in favor of Deloitte & Touche, LLP Group Long Term Disability Plan (the “Plan”), which is insured by Metropolitan Life Insurance Company (“MetLife”). The summary judgment was granted based on Gordon’s failure to file the action within the applicable limitation period. In Bridget Gordon, Plaintiff v. Deloitte & Touche, LLP Group Long Term Disability Plan, No. 12–55114, United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit (April 11, 2014) the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal was called upon to determine what statute of limitation, if any, applies to an ERISA claim.
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The workers’ compensation system is based on a trade-off between employers and employees. Employees are entitled to receive prompt, effective medical treatment for on-the-job injuries or illnesses no matter who is at fault and, in return, are therefore prevented from suing employers over those injuries. As a result, California employers, as in other states, are required by law to have workers’ compensation insurance, even if they have only one employee. And, if employees get hurt or sick because of work, the employer is required to pay for workers’ compensation benefits. Workers’ comp insurance provides six basic benefits: medical care, temporary disability benefits, permanent disability benefits, supplemental job displacement benefits, or vocational rehabilitation and death benefits.
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The Clean Water Act (CWA) provides federal agencies with authority to regulate a wide range of activities that may affect “waters of the United States”—sometimes called “navigable waters.” These activities include water quality planning and discharge regulation by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and delegated states, and regulation of projects that may lead to “dredge and fill” of waters, through permits issued by the US Army Corps of Engineers.
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Stormwater
Continual Improvement is an important aspect of any EMS and ISO 14001 references it in five separate clauses. To fully benefit from it, it’s not enough to implement a system based on ISO 14001, or even to have your EMS certified as ISO 14001-compliant—you must monitor and maintain your system, and find ways to improve to it. Similarly, the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) reviews and revises its standards in an ongoing effort to improve relevance and effectiveness. ISO 14001:2004 is currently undergoing review, with some big changes expected in the new version due in mid-2015.
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The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (FLSA) establishes a national minimum wage for most employees engaged in interstate commerce, and requires time-and-one-half pay for overtime worked by most employees. Although the most obvious changes to FLSA requirements occur when Congress raises the minimum wage, other revisions also impose important effects on millions of U.S. workplaces.
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