SAN FRANCISCO – AB 2505 (Ackerman), introduced on February 21, proposes to abolish the Commission on Health and Safety and Workers’ Compensation. On April 9 it failed passage in the Assembly Committee on Insurance, after facing strong disapproval from applicants’ attorneys and organized labor. The Ackerman bill will be put to the vote again, COR …
SAN FRANCISCO – The California Commission on Health and Safety and Workers’ Compensation is an entity that was created by the 1993 workers’ compensation reform legislation. It is funded by penalties the Audit Unit of the Division of Workers’ Compensation (DWC) collects from adjusting locations of claims administrators with workers’ comp insurers, self-insured employers, self-insured …
SAN FRANCISCO – Cal-OSHA’s high hazard compliance offices in Anaheim and Oakland will soon begin inspecting sites that collect and process refuse, but employers in Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) Codes 4212 and 4953 who have workers’ compensation experience modification rates over 1.25 will get letters prior to inspection. There are about 400 employers in the …
SAN DIEGO – Chief John Howard of Cal-OSHA discussed policy issues in a changing environment in a luncheon speech April 10. “The regulatory incentives (for safety) are there,” he said, “but most of the good work by safety professionals occurs because employers care about their employees. Fear of regulatory sanctions probably finishes last.” Dr. Howard …
SAN DIEGO – The Cal-OSH Standards Board has set two sets of revisions to Title 8 safety orders for public hearing at its May 16 meeting and hearing in the auditorium of the State Building, 197 South Broadway, Los Angeles. A business meeting will follow the public hearing. ELECTRICAL HIGH VOLTAGE WORK: There are two …
SAN FRANCISCO – California’s well established pesticide regulatory program will undergo some major changes after January 1, 1997, when the USEPA’s worker protection standard (WPS) goes into effect. The changes will apply only to agricultural establishments producing agricultural plant commodities for commerce or research, Robert Chavez said. Chavez manages the CalEPA’s Department of Pesticide Regulation …
SAN FRANCISCO – The Cal-OSH Standards Board has announced that the Tunnel Safety Orders, Articles 1 through 24, 8400 through 8568, and Appendices A through E, Underground Construction, became effective on April 4. A copy of the standard, with changes required by Fed-OSHA, is available upon request from the board, 1300 I Street, Suite 920, …
SAN FRANCISCO – The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has issued a final rule that removes about 275 pages of regulations out of approximately 3,000 by making quick-fix administrative and technical amendments. Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health Joseph A. Dear said, “This is our ‘down-payment’ on the President’s promise to …