AL Enacts Law Restricting COVID-19 Vaccination Mandates: Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey (R) signed into law a bill ( SB 9 b ) requiring employers in the state to exempt from COVID-19 vaccination requirements “any employee who has completed and submitted [an] exemption...
OK High Court Reverses J&J Opioid Ruling: In a 5-1 ruling, the Oklahoma Supreme Court overturned a lower court’s $465 million judgement against Johnson & Johnson, maintaining that the drugmaker violated the state's public nuisance law in its...
Business The Wisconsin Senate approves SB 298 , a bill that would bar the Wolverine State from making rules against dogs entering businesses that sell pre-packaged food while still allowing pups to be banned from businesses that sell cooked food. It is now in...
NM Gov Demands New Film Safety Protocols : In the wake of a tragic accidental shooting on the set of a movie being filmed near Santa Fe, New Mexico, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D) said Hollywood needs to adopt strict new safety protocols to protect workers on...
TN Lawmakers Target COVID-19 Vaccine Mandates: By the start of Tennessee’s special session on coronavirus legislation last week, nearly 100 bills had been filed. But the ones most likely to be passed are those sponsored by House Speaker Cameron Sexton ...
TN Lawmakers Move to Block State Medical Boards from Disciplining Doctors for Spreading COVID-19 Misinformation: Ahead of a special session on coronavirus legislation last week, Tennessee lawmakers prefiled a pair of bills ( HB 9020 c and HB 9028 c ) that would...
CA Regulators Move to Ban Oil Drilling Near Homes : California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) proposed new regulations on Thursday that would ban drilling new oil or gas wells near residential neighborhoods. Under the proposal, new wells could not be closer than 3,200...
OSHA Could Strip Workplace Safety Regulation Authority from AZ, SC, UT: The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is poised to begin the process of revoking the authority of Arizona, South Carolina, and Utah to regulate workplace safety, due to the states’...
Nursing Home In-Room Camera Bill Advancing in OH: A bipartisan bill ( SB 58 ) passed unanimously by the Ohio Senate in May and now up for its third committee hearing in the state’s House would allow nursing home residents or their families to install cameras...
Business The U.S. Supreme Court rejects an appeal by trucking companies seeking to exempt drivers from a California labor law that would classify them as employees rather than independent contractors. The SCOTUS rejected without comment an appeal of a lower court...
ID Gov in Power Struggle with Lt. Gov : A simmering feud between Idaho Gov. Brad Little (R) and Lt. Gov. Janice McGeachin (R) became public last week when Little said he would rescind an executive order McGeachin issued in his absence that banned Gem State schools...
AR Lawmakers Pass COVID-19 Vaccine Opt-Out Measure: Arkansas’ General Assembly passed a bill ( HB 1977 ) requiring employers in the state to allow their workers to opt-out of getting vaccinated for COVID-19. The measure failed to draw the two-thirds majority...
Divergent Worker Vaccination Mandate Results in NY, RI: Healthcare workers in New York have been getting vaccinated against COVID-19 at over twice the rate of adult residents of the state as a whole, since former Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) announced a vaccine mandate...
NJ Gov Unveils Return to Work Incentives : In an effort to address ongoing staffing shortages across several industries, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy (D) announced an incentive program that will pay currently unemployed workers $500 to return to the workforce...
CA Boosts Cal/OSHA’s Power: California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) signed legislation ( SB 606 ) expanding the enforcement authority of the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA). The new law, effective Jan. 1, 2022, establishes a rebuttable...