When it comes to getting employees involved in safety and excited about training, Jerry Carter, manager of NRG Energy’s Encina power plant in Carlsbad, says the money he shelled out for a popcorn maker “is the best $500 I ever spent on safety.” Encina’s safety meetings are attended by about half of the regular and …
Friday, May 13, proved to be a truly unlucky day for two California employees. One was found dead on a telephone pole in Valley Glen, and the other was killed at San Francisco’s Moscone Convention Center when he was crushed while in an aerial lift. Three other employees also were killed in recent days. The …
RICHMOND – In presenting the Voluntary Protection Program Star certificate to the Phillips 66 Terminal in this East Bay city, Cal/OSHA Chief Juliann Sum said that the safety statistics for the facility are “pretty amazing.” How’s this for a stat? The terminal, which receives and distributes both crude oil and gas and finished product, has …
The Division of Occupational Safety and Health has revised its proposal to reform the way it issues citations for repeat violations. But what do employers think about the latest move? The regulated public has until May 24 to comment on the Notice of Proposed Modification. See below for details. The rulemaking effort began last summer, …
A 25-year-old Lake Arrowhead man was killed on May 4 in Bear Springs Valley while working as part of a crew in a logging operation. Cal/OSHA is investigating the incident, but is releasing little information about the incident. “The employee was killed by a falling tree,” says Department of Industrial Relations Communications Director Erika Monterroza. …
Cal/OSHA in several recent cases agreed to settle violations, with substantial reductions in penalties. In one case, a willful violation was reduced to a general, and more than $70,000 in proposed penalties was slashed to $1,500. Settlements are not new and happen all the time. So frequently, in fact, that it explains why lawyers advise employers …
As our recent story on the latest workplace fatality statistics shows, California had the second-highest number of fatalities in the country. But does that mean that our state is more dangerous than others? Not according to a deeper analysis of data collected by the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI). California has by far more …
A fee dispute between Cal/OSH Appeals Board Administrative Law Judge Mary Dryovage and a former private-practice client has resulted in the suspension of her law license for at least one year. Dryovage was found culpable for misappropriation of funds. The California State Bar had sought disbarment on grounds of moral turpitude, but a review panel …