Appeal Court Expands the Scope of California’s Ergonomics Standard

The Cal-OSH Standards Board's regulation for ergonomics in the workplace was largely vindicated on Oct. 29 by a three-judge panel in the Third District Court of Appeal in Sacramento.The opinion, written by justice Consuela Callahan, held that the board had exceeded its authority when it included the small-employer exemption in General Industry 5110. In other respects, it upheld 5110 as originally promulgated "following a protracted saga of rulemaking, comments and public hearings."