Media Mentions
2011
“CMS Supports Medicare Plans’ Ability to Collect Under Secondary Payer Law”
BNA Health Law Resource Center, December 8, 2011
Arthur Sapper said that a Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services memo urging Medicare Advantage organizations to collect for services when other entities are primary payers is important because previous court decisions indicated no such collection right existed. “Although you can’t ‘unring’ bells when it comes to previous court rulings,” Mr. Sapper added, courts in future decisions will need to defer to the CMS view that previous decisions misunderstood the statute.
Arthur G. Sapper, Health, OSHA, MSHA & Catastrophe Response
“SeaWorld Fights for Future of Killer-Whale Shows”
Orlando Sentinel, September 16, 2011
Arthur Sapper explained that SeaWorld likely is challenging the OSHA citation that it committed a “willful” safety violation when an animal trainer was killed by a killer whale at its Orlando park because the company is uncertain if it can meet OSHA’s proposed remedial actions. “You can’t effectively promise the federal government, at the risk of jeopardizing your company, that you’re going to abate if you’re not sure you can,” Mr. Sapper stated.
Arthur G. Sapper, OSHA, MSHA & Catastrophe Response
“The 50 People Who Most Influenced EHS in 2010-11”
EHS Today, June 1, 2011
Arthur Sapper was listed as one of four litigators among 50 high-profile persons who had the most influence on environmental health and safety issues during the past year. Mr. Sapper focuses on all areas of occupational and mine safety and health law, including inspections, litigation, rulemaking, counseling and lobbying.
Arthur G. Sapper, OSHA, MSHA & Catastrophe Response
“OSHA Turns 40”
EHS Today, April 27, 2011
Arthur Sapper noted that OSHA rulemaking “increasingly displays two related trends – the standards are becoming both increasingly programmatic and increasingly nebulous.” He said that new process safety management and communication standards “shift the burden of thought from OSHA’s rulemaking staff to employers” regarding compliance, which leaves employers “vulnerable to citation.” Mr. Sapper added that a forthcoming injury and illness prevention standard similarly “will threaten to become a citation mill.”
Arthur G. Sapper, OSHA, MSHA & Catastrophe Response
“The Clock is Ticking, But When Does It Start?”
Corporate Counsel, January 1, 2011
Arthur Sapper said of OSHA record-keeping violation citations against his industrial contractor client that “some charges are almost five years old and the statute of limitations is only six months.” Mr. Sapper asserted that OSHA’s action is “based on stale evidence,” and added, “Employers find it very difficult to reconstruct the facts of the case years later.”
Arthur G. Sapper, OSHA, MSHA & Catastrophe Response
2010
“Will OSHA Let the Past Be the Past?”
Human Resource Executive, December 12, 2010
Arthur Sapper, who is defending a client against OSHA citations issued up to four years after alleged safety violations, said that if the agency action is upheld “it means that employers would be subject to citation and penalties for very stale allegations of violation.” Mr. Sapper explained the difficulty this causes: “Memories go bad. Witnesses leave or they die. In fact, in [this] case, the first of the two record keepers actually died by the time OSHA actually started the inspection.”
Arthur G. Sapper, OSHA, MSHA & Catastrophe Response
“OSHA Case May Break New Legal Ground”
Blog of Legal Times, November 11, 2010
Arthur Sapper defended a Louisiana contractor in a rare OSH Review Commission hearing of oral arguments regarding how much time can elapse between an alleged safety violation and the issuing of an OSHA citation. Mr. Sapper argued that recent case law calls for no more than a six-month lapse, and said current OSHA practice of waiting up to five years means employers are “trying to defend a case based on stale evidence. Employers find it very difficult to reconstruct the facts of the case years later.” Mr. Sapper’s defense was also noted in the New Jersey Law Journal (November 15, 2010).
Arthur G. Sapper, OSHA, MSHA & Catastrophe Response
Arthur Sapper was mentioned on the FDRSafety blog (July 27) for his recent article on how companies can avoid “willful” or “repeated” safety violations when dealing with OSHA inspectors. Calling Mr. Sapper “one of the real pros in the safety community,” the blog post summarized the five steps that Mr. Sapper proposed companies take, such as to avoid arguing with the inspector, the standards or employee complaints.
Arthur G. Sapper, OSHA, MSHA & Catastrophe Response
2008
Arthur G. Sapper, Robert C. Gombar, and James A. Lastowka were mentioned in the January 2008 issue of Occupational Hazards regarding the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission's re-examination of a 1993 precedent allowing OSHA to issue citations for recordkeeping violations that are more than 6 months old. Volks Constructors, with a friend of the court brief from the National Federation of Independent Business, is challenging the precedent. Mr. Sapper, Mr. Gombar, and Mr. Lastowka are on the brief submitted to the Commission on Volks Constructors' behalf.
James A. Lastowka, Arthur G. Sapper, Government Strategies
2006
Art Sapper was quoted in the May 22 issue of The Washington Post in response to a recent speech by new OSHA chief, Edwin G. Foulke, Jr. "Ed never said all unsafe conditions are due to employee misbehavior. The criticism that he did [do that] is off the mark," commented Art. This article also appeared on www.washingtonpost.com.
Arthur G. Sapper, OSHA, MSHA & Catastrophe Response
Art Sapper was quoted by Occupational Hazards on March 15 in regard to the U.S. Senate confirmation of Edwin Foulke as the new assistant secretary of labor.
Arthur G. Sapper, OSHA, MSHA & Catastrophe Response
2003
Art Sapper was quoted in The Case Against Lawyers, a book by Court TV personality Catherine Crier, which looks into the American legal system. Mr. Sapper was quoted in a section addressing the complexity of OSHA laws.
