Regulatory Update

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The Drug Enforcement Administration (“DEA”) announced September 7, 2016 that it intends to temporarily schedule the synthetic opioid known as U-47700 on Schedule I of the federal Controlled Substances Act because it poses an imminent hazard to the public safety. A final scheduling order will be made on or after October 7, 2016.  Schedule I…

As part of the federal government’s efforts to address the opioid abuse epidemic, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) issued a safety announcement on August 31, 2016, advising against the mixture of opioid medications and benzodiazepines. Specifically, a FDA review found that combining opioid medicines with benzodiazepines or other drugs that depress the central…

The Drug Enforcement Administration (“DEA”) announced August 30, 2016 that it intends to add the opioids Mitragynine and 7-Hydroxymitragynine, also known as Kratom, to the list of Schedule I drugs under the federal Controlled Substances Act because Kratom poses an imminent hazard to public safety.

Kratom is a tropical tree indigenous to Thailand, Malaysia, Myanmar,…

The federal Drug Enforcement Administration announced August 11, 2016 that it denied two petitions to reschedule marijuana under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA). In addition, DEA announced a policy change designed to foster research by expanding the number of DEA-registered marijuana manufacturers, and issued a statement of principles concerning industrial hemp.

The CSA categorizes drugs…

Yesterday, OSHA announced that it would delay the effective date of one portion of the final rule, “Improve Tracking of Workplace Injuries and Illnesses” also known as the Electronic Recordkeeping rule. Specifically, OSHA has delayed enforcement of the anti-retaliation provision, 1904.35(b)(1)(iv), from August 10, 2016 until November 1, 2016.  Section 1904.35(b)(1)(iv) states, “[employers]…

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Railroad Administration (“FRA”) recently announced a final rule expanding drug and alcohol testing applicable to maintenance-of-way (“MOW”) employees, effective one year from the date of the rule’s publication (which has yet to be announced). MOW employees work directly on and around railway tracks and crossings, maintaining the tracks, bridges,…

Today, OSHA’s final electronic recordkeeping rule, “Improve Tracking of Workplace Injuries and Illnesses,” was published in the Federal Register.  A detailed discussion of the rule can be found here on our OSHA Law Blog.  In the final rule OSHA states that “blanket post-injury drug testing policies deter proper reporting” and concludes that:

“the final…

In the last three years, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has filed numerous lawsuits against employers who take adverse actions against applicants and employees who use prescription medications. In accordance with that trend, EEOC filed suit on November 3, 2015 against an employer who purportedly refused to hire a recovering drug addict using methadone, alleging…