Manatt’s Mandana Massoumi, a partner in the firm’s employment and labor practice, was quoted by Business Insurance for an article on a recent California Supreme Court ruling—Solus Industrial Innovations, LLC v. Superior Court—on states’ abilities to adopt stronger workplace safety protections than those offered by the federal government.
The Occupational and Safety Health Act in 1970 aimed to address uneven and inadequate state protection of employee health and safety, creating a minimum level of protection throughout the country. States now have the ability to opt out and have their own plans.
“This decision (against Solus) supports this type of state program,” said Massoumi. “If you have these state regulations that are in line with the same interests as the federal regulations, then you can potentially not be pre-empted by federal law.”