SAN FRANCISCO – Cal-OSHA Chief John Howard opened the April 7 meeting of the Cal-OSHA Advisory Committee with a few remarks about the Stafcor decision, which had just been announced by the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. In it the court held that an ERISA plan could not be a substitute for workers’ compensation. …
SAN FRANCISCO – Cal-OSHA counsel Michael Mason briefed the Advisory Committee meeting April 7 on the many bills that were introduced late in the session that affect Cal-OSHA. (Also see NEWS pp. 00-5843, 5896 and 5907.) Readers can order the texts of any of them by calling the Legislative Bill Room, 916-445-2323. AB 1605 (B. …
SAN FRANCISCO – Associated General Contractors of California (AGCC) has again voiced its opposition to Cal-OSHA’s proposed ergonomics standard. Members of its health, safety and environment committee participated in the advisory committee meetings that paved the way for the final draft by the Division of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH). At first, construction was exempted; …
SAN FRANCISCO – The Santa Clara Valley Water District has an immediate opening for an industrial hygiene specialist to prepare and review occupational safety and health plans for district projects and facilities with emphasis on confined space entry, hazardous materials, bloodborne pathogens and emergency response; perform inspections; and provide training for employees. A minimum of …
SAN FRANCISCO – On April 5, the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals told Employee Staffing Services (Stafcor) its belief that ERISA “opened a loophole so that employers could avoid buying workers’ compensation insurance” was unfounded. ERISA stands for Employee Retirement and Income Security Act. It is a federal law. Stafcor, a now-defunct firm that …
SAN FRANCISCO – Cal-OSHA’s efforts to assure the safety of the work that is underway to reconstruct highways damaged in the January Northridge earthquake, without impeding the pace of the work, were hailed by Industrial Relations Director Lloyd Aubry in a recent news release. “The early reopening of the Santa Monica Freeway with a great …
SAN FRANCISCO – We think we may have discovered the cause of the slow and erratic delivery of this newsletter in recent months. Our new mailing system includes bar coding and is read by automated post office scanning equipment. The theory is that the machine is reading the “NEWSPAPER DELIVERY” statement on the envelope as …
SAN FRANCISCO – Included in this issue you will find a revised version of the Trainers and Consultants list. These individuals or firms are self-referred; COR cannot vouch for the services or training they provide. Please remove and discard old pages 62-027 and -028, dated 10-4-93, from behind the DIRECTORY tab (or the SAFETY AIDS …