Month: April 2025

Conn Maciel Carey Expands MSHA • Workplace Safety Practice with Powerhouse Hire – Former U.S. Department of Labor Appellate Litigation Counsel Emily Toler Scott

Theresa Jordan Leave a comment

Conn Maciel Carey LLP (“CMC”), a national boutique Labor and Employment and OSHA/MSHA Workplace Safety law firm, is pleased to announce that Emily Toler Scott has joined the firm as a Senior Counsel in its Washington, DC office. She will support the firm’s national MSHA • Workplace Safety Practice, as well as its OSHA and Labor and Employment Practices.

Emily brings over a decade of experience from the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of the Solicitor, where she most recently served as Counsel for Appellate Litigation. In that role, she directed appellate strategy in over 100 matters involving the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA), with cases before the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission, federal appellate courts, and the U.S. Supreme Court.

“Emily’s unique insight into MSHA’s internal processes, combined with her deep litigation experience, makes her an incredible asset to our team and to our clients,” said Nicholas W. Scala, Chair of the firm’s MSHA • Workplace Safety Practice Group. “Her background elevates our MSHA practice and further solidifies Conn Maciel Carey’s position as a go-to firm for mine safety legal counsel.”

“Employers face complex challenges and need an attorney who can help them navigate that complexity – everything from compliance with regulations to the highest levels of litigation,” says Emily. “I am looking forward to helping mine operators and other employers navigate the changing landscape of administrative law, and to expanding my litigation practice outside mine safety and health.”

During her tenure at DOL, Emily also served as a Senior Trial Attorney and Honors Attorney, litigating complex enforcement and whistleblower cases under the Mine Act, OSH Act, ERISA, and other statutes. Continue reading →

Introducing CMC’s Labor/Employee Relations & Collective Bargaining Masterclass!

Theresa Jordan Leave a comment

Introducing Conn Maciel Carey LLP’s
Labor/Employee Relations & Collective Bargaining Masterclass

Join Conn Maciel Carey for an engaging and interactive learning experience on your rights and obligations under private sector labor law. With a focus on the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), this series will leave you better informed about your rights and responsibilities, empowered to protect your business interests, and equipped with tools to ensure positive employee relations and guard against unnecessary intrusions and disruptions to your operations. One common misunderstanding about the NLRA is that it only applies to employers with union-represented employees. The truth is the NLRA applies to most private sector employers, regardless of size, whether or not their employees are represented by a union.

CMC’s Labor/Employee Relations and Collective-Bargaining Masterclass Series is designed for in-house counsel, senior human resources leaders, and other key organizational leaders responsible for leading employee and/or labor relations or making decisions impacting employees’ terms and conditions of employment directly or indirectly. Join us for this informative, interactive, and empowering learning experience where we will fully explore and demystify complex legal standards under the NLRA, share professional insights, and share tips for everyday practical applications as well as high stakes, complex business transactions.

Click here for more information and to register!

Learning Objectives

At the end of this masterclass series, business participants should: Continue reading →

MSHA Announces Temporary Stay of Silica Rule Compliance Deadline for Coal Mining

Nick Scala Leave a comment

By Nicholas W. Scala

In a significant turn of events for the coal mining sector, the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) has announced a temporary enforcement pause on its stringent respirable crystalline silica regulation. This announcement follows a year of escalating anxiety in the industry since the final rule, officially titled “Lowering Miners’ Exposure to Respirable Crystalline Silica and Improving Respiratory Protection,” became effective on June 17, 2024.

 

Initially, coal operators faced an April 14, 2025, compliance deadline, significantly shorter than the two-year grace period granted to the Metal/Nonmetal (M/NM) industry, which has until April 8, 2026. However, as legal challenges from multiple industry associations loom over the rule, and the agency goes through a transition to the new administration, the landscape for compliance became fraught with uncertainty and lack of guidance. The challenges against the rule—currently consolidated in the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals—raise questions among stakeholders about whether the Court will uphold, vacate, or remand the final rule back to MSHA for revision and what impact that decision will have on compliance obligations.

Continue reading →