Compliance Stuff

Seyfarth Synopsis:  Oregon OSHA institutes program for comprehensive follow-up inspections based on an employer’s violation history, which necessitates employer care during inspections and negotiation of settlements. Oregon Governor Tina Kotek signed Senate Bill 592 into law in 2023, requiring Oregon OSHA to increase penalties and implement a program for follow-up inspections for significant citations. In response, Oregon OSHA implemented its “ Programmed Inspections for Cause ” enforcement program designed to prioritize  comprehensive  inspections against employers with histories of multiple high-classification (Repeat or Willful) citations or citations issued in response to a fatality.  Comprehensive Follow-up Inspections A “comprehensive inspection” is a wall-to-wall examination of the worksite to assess compliance with occupational safety and health regulations. Unlike focused inspections, which target specific hazards or complaints, a comprehensive inspection re...

  Hello everyone, so far Canada (where I was born) is not the 51 st  state.  In other news:   GSA Consolidation   Executive Order 14240 mandates that GSA submit a plan today, June 18, 2025, to centralize procurement of common goods, services and GWACS for IT.    This was supposed to be a dance of agencies proposing how to consolidate procurements within GSA and GSA developing a plan for how that will be implemented.  So far no one has agreed on what kind of DJ will host the event and who is bringing the snacks.   FAR Redo   So far (excuse the pun), nothing major has been done under the FAR redo.  The Trump administration issued the third set of changes under the “Revolutionary Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Overhaul,” revamping FAR Part 18 (Emergency Acquisitions), Part 39 (Information and Communication Technology), and Part 43 (Contract Modifications) through proposed class deviations.  Those changes have not been signif...

The New York State Senate passed the “No Severance Ultimatums Act” (“the Act”), which, if enacted, “prevents employers from giving coercive ultimatums to employees or former employees relating to such employee's severance from employment.” Under the proposed law, employers must: Notify employees of their right to consult an attorney about the severance agreement; Provide employees with a “consideration period” to review the agreement, not less than 21 calendar days; and Provide a seven-day revocation period following execution of the agreement, which would become effective only after the revocation period has expired. Employees may waive the 21-day review period so long as their consent is knowing, voluntary, and not induced by fraud, misrepresentation, or threats by their employer to withdraw or alter the agreement’s terms. The Act does not apply to severance agreements negotiated pursuant to collective bargaining agreements. The changes proposed by the Act are quite progressive....

A new lawsuit just filed against an AI software provider offers a clear warning for any business using artificial intelligence to monitor or record customer service calls. On June 13, a California plaintiff filed a federal class action complaint alleging that Cresta Intelligence, a provider of real-time AI conversation tools, violated the state’s privacy law by capturing, analyzing, and storing her customer service call without her knowledge or consent . The lawsuit doesn't just target the  use  of call data but targets the vendor’s mere  capability  to use that data for its own purposes, such as training AI models or developing new product features. And this is not an isolated case . Similar wiretapping lawsuits have been filed against major brands and their tech vendors, and courts are increasingly letting these cases proceed past early dismissal stages. What do you need to do to protect your business, and what are the five steps you can take to minimize risk? Wha...

The Supreme Court of California is set to decide whether the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) preempts a California statute that requires employers to forfeit the right to arbitrate disputes with employees if arbitration fees are not paid in a timely manner. The case could answer significant questions about the extent to which the FAA may preempt California’s laws regulating employment arbitration. Quick Hits The Supreme Court of California is poised to determine whether the Federal Arbitration Act preempts a state law requiring timely payment of arbitration fees, which could significantly affect employment arbitration practices. The case arises from a dispute where a former employee sought to void arbitration after the employer paid arbitration fees after a thirty-day deadline imposed by a California statute. The outcome will clarify the interplay between federal arbitration standards and California’s efforts to regulate employment arbitration agreements and arbitration processes. The C...

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton recently announced that his office is investigating some of the country’s most ubiquitous home brands — including Colgate-Palmolive, Proctor & Gamble, and General Mills — for allegedly deceptively marketing products such as toothpaste and cereal to Texas consumers, particularly children. These investigations follow the federal government’s recent growing interest in these and other products as part of the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) initiatives launched by U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. On May 1, 2025, Attorney General Paxton announced that his office had sent civil investigative demands (CIDs) to Colgate-Palmolive and Proctor & Gamble for “marketing toothpaste products to parents and children in ways that are misleading, deceptive, and dangerous.” The attorney general claims that Colgate-Palmolive and Proctor & Gamble flavored their products and marketed them to “encourage kids to ingest fluoride t...