Public Health Law Blog Archive

The Food and Drug Administration's proposed Produce Safety Standards address a wide spectrum of food safety issues including food safety training, personnel health and hygiene, agricultural water standards, and use of soil amendments. An understanding of the proposed regulations is critical for state and local authorities.

Last month, several federal and state courts tackled a number of cases with implications for the practice of public health. The Supreme Court weighed in on the ability to mandate contraceptive coverage for companies with religious objections. A district court dismissed a religious objection to a law excluding unvaccinated children from school. Several decisions throughout the country also limited the authority of local boards of health.

To date, every state and the District of Columbia has passed a sports concussion law. Now that many of these laws have been in effect for a few years, legislatures are revisiting them and making changes according to developments in the field.

The Office of National Drug Control Policy’s (ONDCP) Summit on Heroin and Prescription Drug Abuse convened public health and government leaders to discuss the current epidemic of opioid drug abuse, and identify practices and models to help reduce overdose deaths and public health consequences. As physicians, policy makers, advocates and others shared their insights and experiences at the summit, it was clear that opioid overdose is a public health crisis in communities across the nation.

What amount of workers’ compensation does a nurse volunteering at a state-run health clinic receive if she accidentally pricks herself with a used needle? In a majority of states, the answer is none. Workers’ compensation laws do not automatically protect unpaid volunteers because they are typically not deemed to be employees.