Legal Focus

At the start of the 2021-2022 school year, 25 states had issued some form of COVID vaccination mandate, while 12 other states issued COVID vaccination mandate bans. Then on November 4th, OSHA published its Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) mandating COVID vaccinations for large employers, which was followed by a court ordered stay of enforcement issued on November 12th. As federal, state, and local government agencies continue to issue vaccination laws and policies, it is critical that contract...

COVID-19 has created an entirely new workplace safety issue within the purview of the Occupational Health and Safety Administration (“OSHA”). While workplace safety has always been an important focus of the school bus industry, employers must now consider how they are handling their own internal protocols with regard to the coronavirus. If an employee raises a COVID based workplace safety concern, employers should be aware of possible OSHA implications when responding to such complaints. This ...

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) requires many employers with more than ten (10) employees to maintain injury and illness records if the injuries and illnesses are work-related. In April 2020, OSHA issued guidance that established COVID-19 as a recordable illness and stated that employers may be required to record cases of COVID-19. However, because COVID-19 can be easily transmitted, and considering the fact that a sick employee may be unaware he or she contracted CO...

2018 will see the effects of many laws and regulations that that were passed in the last year. Following is a brief “year in review” highlighting the federal and state regulations that matter to Pennsylvania’s school bus contractors.

2018 will see the effects of many laws and regulations that that were passed in the last year. Following is a brief “year in review” highlighting the federal and state regulations that matter to Pennsylvania’s school bus contractors.

After December 1, 2017, school bus contractors with 20 or more employees will be required to report workplace injuries electronically. OSHA, at 29 CFR § 1904, requires employers to keep records of workplace injuries on forms 300, 300A, and 301. After December 1, 2017, the required reporting will be done on the OSHA Injury Tracking Application (ITA). More reporting information can be found at https://www.osha.gov/dcsp/osp/states.html.

The compliance date for the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s (FMCSA) electronic logging device (ELD) requirement (keeping mileage logs electronically instead of on paper) is December 18, 2017. School bus operations are generally exempt from the federal ELD requirement according to 49 CFR 390.3 and 390.5. But, school bus contractors should be aware of the scope of the exemptions.