The latest in a continuing plague of workplace fatalities in the tree trimming industry occurred this week in San Jose. According to early reports, the incident involved a landscaper for a private company, although the employer has not yet been identified. It appears that the landscaper was operating a chain saw when he made contact …
Was it a joke rooted in sarcasm by disgruntled union advocates, or a threat of violence? The National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB) legal team says a 2016 incident that got two employees fired was more like the former. Williams-Sonoma Direct should not have fired two employees for comments at a pre-shift meeting that included …
The Cal/OSH Appeals Board has named Kevin Reedy as presiding administrative law judge at its Sacramento headquarters operation. Ursula Clemons remains the PALJ at the board’s West Covina office. Admitted to the California bar in 1989, Reedy did his undergraduate work at the University of California Los Angeles, and graduated law school from the University …
The U.S. Department of Labor has released its strategic five-year plan, and though the plan reflects the President Donald J. Trump’s top priority – “jobs, more jobs and even more jobs” – DOL says it also is making safety a priority. The good news for OSHA for the coming fiscal year 2019, is that while …
State Compensation Insurance Fund helped hundreds of roofing contractors make their workplaces safer through a combination of a creative safety initiative and an incentive program. The results are dramatic: a 14% drop in workers’ comp indemnity claims over the past two years. The program includes unusual – but logical – fall protection requirements. To date, …
Cal/OSHA is investigating four more workplace fatalities in mid-February. The incidents include two falls. Near Isla Vista, an employee of Goleta West Sanitary District fell 40 feet while working at the University of California at Santa Barbara. No other details are available on this incident yet. In Los Angeles, an order puller for City Staffing …
Cal/OSHA is seeking sizable penalties from several employers in 2017 workplace fatality cases. Whether the citations will stick, time will tell. But these cases contain lessons for employers. Here are the most significant recent cases. Ranch of the Golden Hawk: Cal/OSHA says the April 10, 2017, death of 38-year-old Marcelino Gorostista-Nova was the result of …