US: 41.8M Cases - 677.9K Dead - 31.8M Recovered
Worldwide: 225.5M Cases - 4.6M Dead - 202.1M Recovered

Former Senior Loss Prevention Executive
Know of any fallen LP exec? Let's remember & recognize.

Private Industry Security Guard Deaths: 309  
Law Enforcement Officer Deaths: 396
*Red indicates change in total deaths

Nearly every U.S. county is seeing high COVID transmission

Allowing Employers to Point to a Federal Requirement
Is Biden's vaccine mandate legal? It doesn't matter.
The administration knows employer mandates are likely legal, and it has decided the economic and public health benefits of a requirement are worth the risk of a judicial defeat later.

The administration is frustrated with the damage done by those who remain unvaccinated, Biden said. The goal is to move to save lives and get the economy back on track as fast as possible. And Biden has long taken the position that employers are the ones that can do that.

We've also known for some time that employer vaccine mandates are likely legal, assuming accommodations are provided for those who cannot receive the shot due to a disability or sincerely-held religious belief.

But while some businesses adopted vaccine mandates in recent weeks, others hesitated. Various employment law attorneys have told HR Dive reporters that clients are interested in such policies, but worry about legal challenges.

This newly announced standard is designed to assuage those worries more than assurances from enforcement agencies could.

It's designed to take the onus off employers and allow them to point to a federal requirement. hrdive.com

How OSHA works - and how it'll go about enforcing the 100+ employees vaccine requirement
In the COVID-19 action plan announced by the White House on Thursday, Biden specifically directed OSHA to issue an emergency temporary standard (ETS) for the private sector vaccine mandate.

Per the agency, if OSHA determines that "workers are in grave danger" it can bypass the standard procedure and implement an ETS. Once set, the new standard has six months to go through the usual process to become permanent, and can be challenged in an appeals court during that time.

What difficulties will OSHA face in enforcing the vaccine mandate?

Republican lawmakers like Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp have already vowed to fight the vaccine mandate, so it's likely the ETS will be challenged in court. If challenged, the ETS will remain in effect unless a court specifically blocks it.

The courts will likely have to determine whether the Commerce Clause of the Constitution gives OSHA the authority to broadly mandate vaccines. The Commerce Clause gives Congress the power to regulate commerce with foreign nations and among states. Abramson said the clause has historically been applied broadly, allowing the government to act when something is affecting interstate commerce, such as COVID-19.
However, disagreements exist over the extent of the powers it grants to Congress, and Abramson said a successful challenge under this clause "would have the strongest impact toward eliminating the ability of the federal government to require broad vaccination mandates."

OSHA's previous role in enforcing pandemic guidelines

OSHA already issued an emergency standard to protect workers in healthcare and related industries from contracting the virus. The June ETS required workplaces to have a written plan to mitigate transmission, provide proper ventilation, implement social distancing, and supply employees with personal protective equipment, among other requirements. It also mandated employers provide paid time off for employees to get vaccinated.

OSHA said employers would have 14 days to come into compliance after the June rule took effect, though it did not say how it planned to enforce the rules. news.yahoo.com

Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)
COVID-19 Response Summary - Enforcement, Updated Sep. 7, 2021
See the numbers of complaints, inspections, responses, closed cases by industry, region, state.

Here Comes The New OSHA Inspectors
Biden wants resources for OSHA to enforce vaccine mandate -White House
President Joe Biden wants the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to have all the resources it will need to enforce the employer vaccine mandate he unveiled on Thursday, the White House said on Friday. reuters.com

FMI says Biden’s vaccine mandate raises 'more questions than answers'
On Friday, Jennifer Hatcher, Chief Public Policy Officer & Senior Vice President of FMI-The Food Industry Association, noted the organization’s concerns with the mandate, while acknowledging its support of vaccines in general.

“Since COVID-19 vaccines became available to the public, FMI and our members have been committed to encouraging food industry employees to receive the vaccine,” she said, “but also respected their right to make choices about their own individual health needs and those of their families.”

“The announcement yesterday by President Biden of an employer mandate on vaccinations and testing for employees, including fines and penalties for businesses that fail to comply, raises a tremendous number of questions including when the rules will be released; how long businesses have to get their full workforces vaccinated before fines are levied; availability of COVID-19 tests; and whether pharmacies that accept Medicare or Medicaid are covered under the requirement for federally funded health care settings, to name a few. supermarketnews.com

Business Groups Surveying Members Before Responding?
Biden vaccine mandates: Republicans angry, business groups muted
Republicans on Friday vowed to fight U.S. President Joe Biden's new vaccine mandate covering big companies and federal employees, but business groups that often agree with them on issues like taxes are not joining in.

The mandate, which the White House says would cover 100 million U.S. workers and applies to about two-thirds of all U.S. employees, is being written in part by the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).

Within hours of the new measures being announced on Thursday, some lawmakers, state governors and political party officials were threatening lawsuits or pledging to defy it. reuters.com

Businesses had a mixed response to these mandates
Officials at Amazon praised them. The president of the Business Roundtable, a group that includes Chevron, Caterpillar and other large companies, welcomed them. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce released a neutral statement. And groups representing small and independent businesses expressed concern these mandates would threaten companies' recovery and free enterprise. washingtonpost.com

Majority of Americans Support Vaccine Mandates - With a Few Catches
Most Americans support vaccine mandates for work & schools, poll shows
As President Biden rolls out sweeping coronavirus vaccine mandates, more than half of Americans say they support businesses requiring proof of vaccination to return to the office, according to a CNN poll published Monday.

The poll — conducted by research group SSRS before Biden announced on Sept. 9 he is seeking to compel businesses with more than 100 workers to require vaccinations or weekly coronavirus testing — shows Americans have warmed up to the idea of vaccine mandates in some cases.

They are more supportive than they were in an April poll of vaccine mandates for office workers (54 percent now), students returning to schools (55 percent) and people seeking to attend a sporting event or a concert (55 percent). Fewer than half of Americans (41 percent) supported vaccine mandates for customers entering a grocery store.

Support for these mandates has risen across the board since April, growing 6 percentage points with regard to students, 8 points regarding office workers and event attendees, and 15 points regarding grocery shoppers,” according to CNN. The survey was conducted between Aug. 3 and Sept. 7 online and on the phone among a sample of 2,119 adults.

The poll shows just how polarized the issue has become, with 51 percent of Americans agreeing that requiring proof of vaccination in exchange for the right to perform “everyday activities outside of the home” is “an acceptable way to increase the vaccination rate,” while 49 percent felt it was “an unacceptable infringement on personal rights.” washingtonpost.com

9 Guards Injured - Vaccine Workers Harassed & Threatened - Vaccine Theft
Armed Security Now Escorting Neighborhood Vaccination Teams
Armed security officers have been used to secure many Covid-19 vaccination sites throughout the country since late 2020 but now, they’re going mobile. Since the beginning of the vaccination push, security officers have secured vaccination locations ensuring public safety and preventing the theft of the vaccines.

At least nine security officers since April have been injured during these assignments and on two occasions, security stopped the theft of the vaccines.

But now, private armed security officers are on the move in California, New York and Colorado providing mobile security support for healthcare workers and support staff who have entered a new phase of vaccinating the public.

Daily mobile vaccination units are moving from one neighborhood to another making it easier for those who are elderly, low-income, or without transportation to become vaccinated. Some of these new mobile units have been met with demonstrations, vandalism to vehicles and equipment and several workers have been physically threatened.  privateofficerbreakingnews.blogspot.com

Vaccine Mandate Lawsuits Begin to Mount
Biden steps into legal fight with vaccine mandates

It could 'contain the virus by spring'

The new measures were immediately met with outrage from a chorus of GOP governors who pledged to challenge the rule in court, arguing the vaccine requirements violate personal freedoms and that businesses should be allowed to set their own workplace standards.

The courts have long held that employers have the right to require vaccines for their employees, but Biden’s plan raises questions over whether a president can mandate such requirements for the private sector.

Those challenges could end up halting implementation of the rule, and any lawsuits that find their way to the Supreme Court will be decided by a 6-3 conservative majority.

Lawrence Gostin, a public health law professor at Georgetown University, said Biden is on “rock solid legal ground” because of the powers granted by Congress to the president through the Occupational Health and Safety Act of 1970. Biden’s new COVID-19 measures would represent an unprecedented application of that law.

“If there were ever a true emergency situation in our modern history, this is it,” Gostin said. “What it will do, if it were fully implemented and quickly, it could boost our overall population vaccination coverage so high that we would have a good chance of containing the virus by the spring.” thehill.com

Public employees sue over de Blasio’s NYC vaccine mandate

Coronavirus-sniffing dogs unleashed at Miami airport to detect virus in employees

Apple shopper melts down over masks in Miami Beach

More than 4,000 face-mask incidents have been reported to the TSA

Cartels & The Supply Chain
How drug ring hid $1B worth of coke on a single ship

Not only do they drive ORC, operate stores in LA's Garment District, but they're also using our supply chain to bring it in.

The U.S. prosecution of crewmembers of the container ship MSC Gayane is finally over. More than two years after a record 20 tons of cocaine worth $1 billion was found aboard the ship when it docked in Philadelphia, eight seafarers have been sentenced to lengthy prison terms. The last defendant, Alexsandar Kavaja, was sentenced Tuesday.

Ever since the record-breaking drug bust on June 17, 2019, industry insiders speaking to American Shipper have marveled at the scale of the smuggling operation and wondered aloud how it was carried out. How was that much cocaine — the weight equivalent of three fully grown male African elephants — sneaked onto one ship when it was underway at sea, not berthed in port? Given the inherently close quarters of shipboard accommodations, how did more of the crew, and for that matter, the captain, not know what was going on?

Of the 22 crew on the ship, more than a third admitted to being involved in the operation and were convicted. "Insufficient evidence to charge the captain or other crewmembers.”

The MSC Gayane — a large 2018-built “Neopanamax”-class ship with capacity to carry 11,600 twenty-foot equivalent units — As it sailed southward down the western coast of South America after transiting the canal, it was met on multiple occasions in the Pacific at night by speedboats.

Smugglers in the speedboats loaded duffel bags full of cocaine bricks into nets that were lifted aboard by the crane at the ship’s aft that is used to load stores.

The record bust in Philadelphia

When the MSC Gayane arrived at Philadelphia’s Packer Marine Terminal, it was met by agents of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Customs and Border Protection, the Coast Guard, state police from Pennsylvania and Delaware, and city police from Philadelphia.

While there is no information in the court dockets on whether authorities were tipped off, the scale of the welcoming committee effectively confirms they were. freightwaves.com

Global facial recognition market expected to grow 12 percent to 2025 – report
The substantial growth is expected to be spurred by increasing instances of identity threats, and the necessity of using biometrics to counter them.

According to the new data, during the forecast period, 33 percent of the facial recognition market growth will originate from North America, while Europe will witness the slowest growth between 2019 and 2024. In addition, the U.S., alongside China, UK, Germany, and Japan are expected to remain the largest markets for facial recognition.

In terms of market segments, the new data identifies the most lucrative applications of facial recognition technologies in identification and verification, and the most used type of technology as 3D facial recognition and 2D facial recognition, respectively. biometricupdate.com

Putting Safety First in Warehouses Over Quotas
California legislation targets Amazon, but all warehouses would be impacted

Senate expected to OK AB 701 soon, after earlier approval by Assembly

The legislation is AB 701, doesn’t mention Amazon by name. But since AB 701 was introduced earlier this year, it generally has been viewed as a proposal to regulate certain activities in the state’s final-mile warehouses, with Amazon particularly in Gonzalez’s crosshairs.

Two Senate committees approved the legislation in late August. It is unclear when it will be taken up by the full Senate, but Rachel Michelin, president of the California Retail Association, expects it to be soon. The Assembly voted overwhelmingly in favor of the legislation, and Michelin expects it to pass the Senate. Michelin said she expects that Newsom would sign AB 701 if it passes and he hangs on to his job.

The Senate Judiciary Committee that approved the legislation put together a lengthy document that spelled out both supporters’ and opponents’ view of what is wrong — and right — with the bill, and by extension, the warehouse sector.

“The bill essentially sets down two key rules and then builds mechanisms around them to make sure they are enforceable,” the Judiciary Committee’s report said.

Quotas are at the root of the “key rules.” One rule in AB 701 is that when a worker is hired, the employee must be given a “written description of all the work quotas to which the worker will be subject, as well as what the consequences will be if the worker fails to meet those quotas,” according to the Senate committee summary.

With that list in hand, another key rule can be invoked: that employees can’t be expected to meet quotas whose demands would prevent the workers from being able to comply not just with occupational safety rules in general but with permitted rest and meal breaks. freightwaves.com

Tropical Storm Nicholas Charges Toward Gulf Coast
Texas Braces for Up to 2 Feet of Rain as Nicholas Strengthens
Tropical Storm Nicholas was churning toward the Texas coast Monday, a strengthening storm that could reach hurricane status when it slams ashore later today. Nicholas, with sustained winds of 60 mph, was centered about 45 miles southeast of the mouth of the Rio Grande early Monday and was headed northwest. Nicholas was forecast to move onshore along the coast of south or central Texas on Monday afternoon or evening.

Whether a hurricane or tropical storm, meteorologists agree that Nicholas will be a rainmaker. Blake forecast Nicholas to pound parts of the middle and upper Texas coastline with 8 to 16 inches of rainfall, with isolated maximum amounts of 20 inches through the middle of the week. Across the rest of coastal Texas into southwest Louisiana, rainfall of 5 to 10 inches is expected.

"Considerable" flash and urban flooding, especially in highly urbanized metropolitan areas, was possible, the hurricane center said. River flooding was also a concern. usatoday.com

LinkedIn Expands Professional 'Learning Hub' to More Users
Makes 40 Popular Course Available for Free
LinkedIn is looking to boost its professional education presence once again with the expansion of its professional Learning Hub, launched in beta back in April, to more organizations.

The Learning Hub enables businesses to provide professional development opportunities to their employees, and uses LinkedIn’s data insights to help highlight relevant skills path and career development opportunities. socialmediatoday.com

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Senior LP & AP Jobs Market

VP, Asset Protection job posted for Bath & Body Works in Columbus, OH
The Vice President, Asset Protection is responsible for leading all areas of Asset Protection including the Corporate Office, logistics and distribution center network and North American retail stores network. Responsible for AP enterprise direction and strategy with a goal of minimizing shrink, reducing loss, and maximizing security and associate safety. careers.bathandbodyworks.com

Director, Safety job posted for Southeastern Grocers in Jacksonville, FL
This role is responsible for developing, implementing, and managing purpose-directed occupational safety and health programs designed to minimize the frequency and severity of customer and associate accidents, while complying with applicable regulatory requirements. This leader is the subject matter expert on all safety matters and will be the support resource for all internal and external business partners.  corporate-segrocers.icims.com

Dir. Compliance & Risk Mgmt job posted for the Marine Corps in Oceanside, CA
The incumbent serves as the Marine Corps Community Services (MCCS) Camp Pendleton/Barstow Compliance and Risk Management Division Director who is responsible for coordinating and implementing policy and a compliance and risk management framework across MCCS. usajobs.gov

Mgr, Corp. Security Life & Safety job posted for Ross Stores in New York, NY
The Manager of Corporate Security & Fire/Life Safety is responsible for promoting the Loss Prevention key objectives through ensuring the safety, security, and protection of company assets within the corporate environment. This position will effectively lead, manage and support the security and life safety program for the corporate offices to include physical security, fire and life safety, alarm response, access control, visitor's control, CCTV, etc. jobs.rossstores.com