Blog Archives

Domestic Employee, Egregious Violator Bills Advance in Senate Committee

Just months after Governor Gavin Newsom vetoed her bill to end the Cal/OSHA regulatory exemption for domestic household employees, Senator Maria Elena Durazo has returned with a similar bill, SB 321. This week, the legislation was approved by the Senate Labor, Public Employment, and Retirement Committee and has been sent to the Judiciary committee. The … Read More »

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Firefighting PPE Update On the Way

Cal/OSHA’s long-awaited update to its regulation on personal protective equipment used in firefighting was described as a “monumental step forward” and “groundbreaking” in a public hearing by the Standards Board. That’s one side. The other side is that employers see potential pitfalls in the proposal, urging the board to avoid making the revision too broad, … Read More »

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A Bracing Cal/OSHA Decision

Cal/OSHA found what is says are serious flaws in a petition regarding rebar bracing, but enough merit to warrant more rulemaking and further investigation. Marisa “Reese” Fortin, CSP, ARP, CHST, STSC, area safety manager for Sundt Construction in Irvine, petitioned the board to allow for internal bracing, arguing that currently Cal/OSHA prohibits it. That’s one … Read More »

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Workplace Fatality Update – Mar 26, 2021

There are eight new workplace fatalities under investigation, five of them from COVID. Workplace-related deaths attributed to the virus from China continue to plummet as the pandemic’s end is in sight. The non-COVID fatalities include: A fatal fall in Los Angeles. A 43-year-old employee of Murray Co. Mechanical Contractors fell approximately 25 feet to the … Read More »

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High-Hazard Project’s Foundation of Safety

Christopher Larsen jokingly calls the work his company did to help replace a bridge over a remote Mendocino County waterway “the little project from hell.” For its efforts, Sonoma County’s C.V. Larsen Co. was recently honored for “Safety on a High Hazard Project” by the Associated General Contractors of California. The hurdles this contractor faced … Read More »

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$2.9 Million PAGA Award Reversed

The California Court of Appeal has set aside an award of $2.9 million to a safety professional who was retaliated against by Sonoma State University after he blew the whistle on asbestos exposures at the North Bay institution. But, as common wisdom holds, the lawyers always win. Based in San Francisco, the First Appellate District … Read More »

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Cal/OSHA Cases Resolved in Employer-Agency Settlements

Cal/OSHA’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health and employers have agreed to settle in several fatality and serious injury cases. Settlements determine the vast majority of citation cases and almost always see significant reductions in the proposed penalties. Here are some of the most important of the recently released cases. Fatalities McMinn Equipment Rental & … Read More »

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Workplace Fatality Update – Mar 19, 2021

There are 13 new workplace fatalities, 10 of them related to COVID-19. The COVID-related workplace deaths have decreased dramatically in recent weeks, as the U.S. and California have passed the one-year mark since COVID triggered shutdowns. In the past year, COVID has become by far the most prevalent workplace fatality investigated by Cal/OSHA’s Division of … Read More »

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