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47 COR 40-8298 [¶23,046]

Cal. Code Regs, tit. 8, § 342(a) (2020) – Employer failed to timely report to the Division an employee’s serious injury.

Summary of COSHAB-ALJ’s Decision dated April 29, 2020, Inspection No. 1251879 (Minneapolis, MN).

47 COR 40-8297 [¶23,045]

GENERAL MOBILE EQUIPMENT AND AUXILIARIES – ELEVATING WORK PLATFORMS AND AERIAL DEVICES, OPERATING INSTRUCTIONS (AERIAL DEVICES)
Cal. Code Regs, tit. 8, § 3648(e) (2020) – The Division failed to establish Employer allowed employees to sit or climb on the edge of an aerial basket to gain greater working height.

CONSTRUCTION SAFETY ORDERS – INJURY AND ILLNESS PREVENTION PROGRAM (IIPP)
Cal. Code Regs, tit. 8, § 1509(a) (2020) – The Division failed to establish Employer did not implement an effective IIPP for installation of cell phone tower equipment.

Summary of COSHAB-ALJ’s Decision dated April 22, 2020, Inspection No. 1282512 (Corona, CA).

47 COR 40-8295 [¶23,044]

SAFE PRACTICES AND PERSONAL PROTECTION, PERSONAL SAFETY DEVICES AND SAFEGUARDS – HEAT ILLNESS PREVENTION, PROVISION OF WATER
Cal. Code Regs, tit. 8, § 3395(c) (2020) – Employer violated the safety order by not providing water to an employee working outdoors. The proposed penalty was not calculated in accordance with the penalty-setting regulations, however; the ALJ modified it accordingly.

Summary of COSHAB-ALJ’s Decision dated April 10, 2020, Inspection No. 1297346 (Chicago, IL).

 

47 COR 40-8293 [¶23,043]

GENERAL PHYSICAL CONDITIONS AND STRUCTURES ORDERS – INJURY AND ILLNESS PROTECTION PROGRAM (IIPP)
Cal. Code Regs, tit. 8, § 3203(a) (2020) – Employer failed to establish, implement or maintain an IIPP.

GENERAL PHYSICAL CONDITIONS AND STRUCTURES – STAIR RAILS AND HANDRAILS
Cal. Code Regs, tit. 8, § 3214(a) (2020) – Employer failed to ensure a stairway used by employees had handrails or stair railings on each side.

SAFE PRACTICES AND PERSONAL PROTECTION – WATER SUPPLY
Cal. Code Regs, tit. 8, § 3363(a) (2020) – The Division failed to establish Employer did not provide potable water in adequate supply.

SAFE PRACTICES AND PERSONAL PROTECTION – SANITARY FACILITIES, TOILET FACILITIES
Cal. Code Regs, tit. 8, § 3364(b) (2020) – The Division failed to establish Employer did not keep its toilet facilities clean and maintained in good working order.

SAFE PRACTICES AND PERSONAL PROTECTION – WASHING FACILITIES, CLEAN INDIVIDUAL HAND TOWELS
Cal. Code Regs, tit. 8, § 3366(e) (2020) – Employer failed to provide hand towels for employees to dry their hands.

SAFE PRACTICES AND PERSONAL PROTECTION, PERSONAL SAFETY DEVICES AND SAFEGUARDS – MEDICAL SERVICES AND FIRST AID
Cal. Code Regs, tit. 8, § 3400(c) (2020) – Employer failed to ensure adequate first-aid materials, approved by a consulting physician, were readily available for employees

FIRE PROTECTION – PORTABLE FIRE EXTINGUISHERS, GENERAL REQUIREMENTS, MAINTAINED IN FULLY CHARGED AND OPERABLE CONDITION
Cal. Code Regs, tit. 8, § 6151(c)(4) (2020) – Employer failed to ensure a fire extinguisher was fully charged.

Summary of COSHAB-ALJ’s Decision dated April 10, 2020, Inspection No. 1304393 (Bakersfield, CA).

 

47 COR 40-8291 [¶23,041R]

SAFE PRACTICES AND PERSONAL PROTECTION, MISCELLANEOUS SAFE PRACTICES – CONTROL OF HAZARDOUS ENERGY FOR CLEANING, REPAIRING, SERVICING, SETTING-UP, AND ADJUSTING OPERATIONS OF PRIME MOVERS, MACHINERY AND EQUIPMENT, INCLUDING LOCKOUT/TAGOUT, CLEANING, SERVICING AND ADJUSTING OPERATIONS
Cal. Code Regs, tit. 8, § 3314(c) (2020) –  Employer failed to de-energize or disengage and/or mechanically block a conveyor when an employee was unjamming it, a serious, accident-related violation. Employer failed to show an exception to the safety order applied, or that it provided adequate supervision to assure effective enforcement of its safety rules.

Digest of COSHAB’s Decision After Reconsideration dated April 20, 2020, Inspection No. 1199473.

47 COR 40-8292 [¶23,042R]

GENERAL PHYSICAL CONDITIONS AND STRUCTURES ORDERS – INJURY AND ILLNESS PROTECTION PROGRAM (IIPP), PROCEDURE TO INVESTIGATE OCCUPATIONAL INJURY OR OCCUPATIONAL ILLNESS
Cal. Code Regs, tit. 8, § 3203(a)(5) (2020) – The Appeals Board upheld the decision of the ALJ that Employer substantially complied with the terms of its IIPP for an accident investigation, where another employer that controlled the worksite would not grant Employer access to the accident area or provide Employer with a copy of its accident investigation report.

Digest of COSHAB’s Decision After Reconsideration dated May 1, 2020, Inspection No. 1200176.

47 COR 40-8287 [¶23,040]

REPORTING WORK-CONNECTED INJURIES – REPORTING WORK-CONNECTED FATALITIES AND SERIOUS INJURIES, STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS
Cal. Code Regs, tit. 8, § 342(a); Labor Code § 6317 (2020) – Although Employer failed to report an employee’s serious illness, the Division did not issue a citation for the violation within the six-month statute of limitations.

OCCUPATIONAL INJURY OR ILLNESS REPORTS AND RECORDS – EMPLOYER RECORDS OF OCCUPATIONAL INJURY OR ILLNESS, DETERMINATION OF WORK-RELATEDNESS, IMPLEMENTATION
Cal. Code Regs, tit. 8, § 14300.5(b)(3) (2020) – Employer did not violate the regulation because it had reliable medical information that two employees’ illnesses or injuries were not work-related. 

CONTROL OF HAZARDOUS SUBSTANCES – DUSTS, FUMES, MISTS, VAPORS AND GASES, RESPIRATORY PROTECTION SELECTION OF RESPIRATORS
Cal. Code Regs, tit. 8, § 5144(d)(1) (2020) – Employer failed to properly evaluate respiratory hazards in the workplace because it did not determine employee exposure to a concentration of an airborne contaminant that would occur if the employee were not using respiratory protection, a general violation.

SAFE PRACTICES AND PERSONAL PROTECTION – MISCELLANEOUS SAFE PRACTICES, HAZARDOUS LIQUIDS
Cal. Code Regs, tit. 8, § 3302(a) (2020) – The Division did not establish a violation because there was no evidence of employee exposure to hazardous liquids capable of inflicting physical injury upon contact with the skin.

SAFE PRACTICES AND PERSONAL PROTECTION – PERSONAL SAFETY DEVICES AND SAFEGUARDS, PERSONAL PROTECTIVE DEVICES, HAZARD ASSESSMENT AND EQUIPMENT SELECTION
Cal. Code Regs, tit. 8, § 3380(f) (2020) – Employer violated the safety order because it did not have each affected employee use gloves that would protect them from hazards identified in hazard assessments. The ALJ reclassified the violation from serious to general and modified the penalty.

CONTROL OF HAZARDOUS SUBSTANCES – DUSTS, FUMES, MISTS, VAPORS AND GASES, AIRBORNE CONTAMINANTS, WORKPLACE MONITORING
Cal. Code Regs, tit. 8, § 5155(e)(1) (2020) – The Division did not establish a violation because Employer monitored the work environment when there was a reasonable suspicion that employees may be exposed to concentrations of airborne contaminants in excess of permissible levels. The Division did not show any instances of which Employer should have reasonably suspected excessive concentrations within the six months before issuance of the citation, or suspected instances that were unresolved to the extent they would be considered a continuing violation of the obligation to monitor.

CONTROL OF HAZARDOUS SUBSTANCES – FORMALDEHYDE, EXPOSURE MONITORING
Cal. Code Regs, tit. 8, § 5217(d)(1) (2020) – The Division did not establish a violation because Employer documented, using objective data, that the presence of formaldehyde or formaldehyde-releasing products in the workplace could not result in concentrations of airborne formaldehyde that would cause any employee to be exposed at or above the action level or the short-term exposure limit under foreseeable conditions of use. Employer, as a result, was not required to measure employee exposure to formaldehyde.

Summary of COSHAB-ALJ’s Decision dated March 10, 2020, Inspection No. 1195278 (Bakersfield, CA).

 

47 COR 40-8285 [¶23,037R]

JURISDICTION – PETITION FOR RECONSIDERATION
Labor Code § 6614(a) (2020) – The Appeals Board lacked jurisdiction over Employer’s untimely petition for reconsideration.

Digest of COSHAB’s Denial of Petition for Reconsideration dated April 8, 2020, Inspection No. 1356215.