Two safety order revisions adopted recently by the Cal/OSH Standards Board have gotten final regulatory approval from the Office of Administrative Law and could be effective as soon as July 1. Although they are relatively minor rulemaking actions, they ultimately could lead to greater safety. One of the revisions is intended to ensure employers have …
The Cal/OSH Appeals Board has denied a petition for reconsideration by BHC Fremont Hospital of an administrative law judge’s decision earlier this year to uphold a citation related to patient-on-staff violence. The board also issued a Decision After Reconsideration allowing a trenching case to continue where an ALJ reclassified a violation to willful-serious, and raised …
The Division of Occupational Safety and Health and employers have reached settlements in a number of fatality cases cited over the past couple of years. In all the cases, the employers will pay less than the proposed penalties, significantly less, in some cases. More than three-fourths of Cal/OSHA citation cases result in settlements. Following is …
BENICIA – Good news seems in short supply these days in California oil refining. Cal/OSHA regulators are busy preparing a massive overhaul of the process safety management standard in the wake of the 2012 Chevron Richmond refinery fire. There is much concern about the state of the state’s refineries, some of which are more than 100 …
The Division of Occupational Safety and Health is investigating four worker fatalities in the first week of June, including a fatality that might have been caused by chemical poisoning. Conclusive details are not in for two of the cases under investigation. The worker, employed by Del Sol Farm Labor in Merced, died June 2, but …
WOODLAND – It was late morning at the Yolo County courthouse project in this little county seat west of Sacramento. It was alive with activity. At the big mid-rise project, two huge cranes were moving materials into place, a concrete pumper and mixer were working on a pour, and twin construction personnel hoists were shuttling …
A discussion draft circulated by the Division of Occupational Safety and Health in advance of an advisory meeting next week proposes a permissible exposure limit on lead exposure that isn’t as drastic as recommended by a fellow agency. Nevertheless it would require employers to significantly crank down their levels. The draft sets the PEL at 10 …
Cal/OSHA is investigating a double fatality that occured in the Sacramento Valley as June began. The Division of Occupational Safety and Health also is probing a workplace death in the northern San Joaquin Valley during a tree-trimming operation. The basket incident was May 30 in the Yolo County town of Winters along Interstate 505. The …