This summer is proving to be another hot one in many parts of the country, which means the odds of workplace illnesses and injuries relating to excessive temperatures are much higher. In April, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced a National Emphasis Program focused on addressing workplace heat hazards, which will entail OSHA conducting inspections to identify heat-related hazards in workplaces both indoors and outdoors. Employers should have a plan to avoid liability for heat-related illnesses and to be prepared should such an inspection occur.

The Department of Labor recently issued a reminder to employers involved in the mining industry. As spring (slowly) approaches, surface mines will reopen. As miners head back to the job site and prepare equipment for the new season, potential for injury is high.

At this time of the year when the flu, strep throat and other illnesses are making their way through our children, friends and society in general, it is good for employers to be mindful of their options, but more importantly to plan ahead for employees who come to work visibly ill.  While many people want to “tough it out” through an illness, the reality is that by toughing it out an employee may in fact be compromising the health of others and decreasing the productivity of an entire workplace.  The time to ask what to do about such an employee is not when the employee sits down at his/her desk at the start of the work day or takes his/her place on the assembly line.  Rather, the best time to consider how to handle these inevitable situations is well before they occur.