Hunton Employment & Labor Perspectives

The United States Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”), does not have a safety standard specifically addressing extreme weather. Instead, OSHA relies on the General Duty Clause of the Occupational Safety and Health Act to address identified hazards to workers in extreme weather. The General Duty Clause requires employers to provide employees “a place of employment which [is] free from recognized hazards that are causing or are likely to cause death or serious physical harm.”

On November 6, 2025, the Eighth Circuit issued its decision in Home Depot U.S.A. v. NLRB, reaffirming the right of employers to prohibit employees (particularly those in customer-facing roles) from wearing politically-charged insignia on their work uniforms.