Two major Cal/OSHA cases against Chevron U.S.A. resulting from the 2012 explosion and fire in Richmond appear to be nearing settlements. The bigger of the two cases, with proposed penalties of almost $800,000, is the topic of negotiations between the oil company and the Division of Occupational Safety and Health. The other case, with proposed …
An interesting mix of occupational safety and health bills is taking shape in the California Legislature. While some are straightforward and self-explanatory, others seek to offer protections and due process to specific industry sectors. Labor unions are pushing legislation addressing protections for private EMS workers, daycare professionals, and refinery workers. One bill, AB 903, by Jordan …
So far in March, four people have suffered workplace fatalities, two of them from falls, which continue to add to California’s fatality toll. The falls occurred in Malibu and Fontana. The Malibu victim was a painter for California Home Builders. He fell off a ladder while painting the exterior of a house and died at …
Employers and the Division of Occupational Safety and Health have settled fatality cases that stretch back to 2012. Many of the cases we outline here, as is fairly typical, closed for around 50 cents on the dollar, others a little more and in one instance, a lot less. Here are the latest significant fatality settlements, …
Two organizations representing California’s oil refining industry have demanded significant changes in proposed reforms to Cal/OSHA’s process safety management regulation. Triggered by the 2012 Chevron Richmond fire and buttressed by an equally destructive fire at ExxonMobil Torrance in early 2015, the changes are to General Industry Safety Orders §5189.1. One of the organizations, Western States …
Two more California workers have died from falls on the job, one from a plunge through a skylight and the other a fall from a ladder. Falls continue to be a leading cause of workplace fatalities in the state. In another tragic incident, a deputy sheriff in Alameda County was killed when he was struck …
Employer representatives urged the Division of Occupational Safety and Health not to rush into an indoor heat illnesses standard. But labor says there’s no reason DOSH can’t go full steam ahead on the new regulation. But observers on both sides of the issue agree on one thing: The discussion draft DOSH released has too many …
The tragic death of an Alameda County deputy sheriff recently could have been prevented – and other cases involving similar incidents have lessons that employers would do well to heed. The deputy, Mike Foley, 60, was hit by a bus in a dimly lit parking lot at the Santa Rita jail facility. Tragically, he was …