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On November 30, 2020, emergency temporary COVID-19 workplace standards (“ETS”) issued by the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (“Cal/OSHA”) took effect.  The ETS, which requires stringent workplace protocols intended to curb the spread of COVID-19, applies to all California employers, other than those subject to the Cal/OSHA Aerosol Transmissible Disease standard or those with only one employee at the workplace who does not have contact with others.  Under the ETS, employers must adopt and implement a comprehensive COVID-19 prevention program that includes identification and correction of COVID-19 risks, employee screening, investigation of cases, use of face coverings and other protective equipment, exclusion of exposed employees, and provision of free COVID-19 testing in certain circumstances, among other requirements.  The ETS also mandates testing and other action when there are multiple infections or an “outbreak” in a workplace.
Continue Reading California Employers Must Comply with New Cal/OSHA COVID-19 Workplace Safety Standards

EPA recently released a compliance advisory addressing UV lights that make claims to mitigate the novel coronavirus (or other viruses or bacteria), which the agency regulates as pesticidal devices under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA).  While the advisory largely reiterates past guidance relating to pesticidal devices, which this blog previously discussed, it does underscore that EPA is particularly focused on UV lights, and contains three important cautions for companies making claims that their UV light products kill the coronavirus or other microbes.
Continue Reading EPA Warns UV Light Companies About Coronavirus Claims

For the first time ever, EPA has approved a pesticide making residual antiviral claims under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA).  The approval may be a significant boon in the fight against COVID-19, but it also raises several key questions about EPA’s broader approach to combatting the novel coronavirus.
Continue Reading EPA Issues Emergency Approval for First-Ever Residual Antiviral Product

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC”) has announced plans to hold a two-day technical conference on July 8-9, 2020 regarding the ongoing impacts that the emergency conditions caused by COVID-19 are having on the United States’ energy industry.  FERC’s stated objective is to ensure the continued functioning of energy markets, electricity transmission, transportation of natural gas and oil and energy infrastructure reliability.
Continue Reading FERC Plans Conference on COVID-19 Impacts

EPA recently released a compliance advisory addressing pesticidal products that make claims to mitigate the novel coronavirus.  While the advisory largely reiterates past guidance relating to pesticides, EPA has increased its emphasis on pesticidal devices, such as UV lights and ozone generators, which are subject to their own distinct set of regulations.
Continue Reading EPA Provides Limited Guidance Relating to Pesticidal Devices and the Coronavirus

Under EPA’s 2016 Emerging Viral Pathogens policy, pesticide registrants can obtain EPA “pre-approval” for their product to make claims to kill emerging viral pathogens when the policy is “activated,” so long as the pesticides have been approved for use on similar viruses.  These include common household and workplace disinfectant products, which are generally regulated as pesticides by EPA.  The policy was activated for the first time in response to the COVID-19 outbreak, allowing certain claims to mitigate the coronavirus to be made for certain registered pesticides approved under the policy.  Several recent OSHA and EPA developments underscore the importance of pesticide registrants securing approval under the policy, as well as its limitations.
Continue Reading New EPA and OSHA COVID-19 Guidance Underscore the Importance of Securing Pesticide Approval under EPA’s Emerging Viral Pathogens Policy