Blog Archives

Guardrail Exception Sails through Meeting

BURBANK — Cal/OSHA’s proposal to provide an exception to its guardrail requirements for portable amusement rides appears non-controversial. A Standards Board public hearing on the proposal drew no comments Oct. 19. The proposal would revise General Industry Safety Orders §3210(b) to relieve portable ride operators from guarding requirements when they aren’t practical, instead using personal … Read More »

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Housekeeping Committee Explores Whether Interventions are a Good Fit

OAKLAND — Opponents of a proposed standard providing new protections for hotel housekeepers say proponents need to provide “sound science” to back up their push for the regulation. At the first and hard-won advisory committee on the subject convened by the Division of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH) on Oct. 23, they saw some data … Read More »

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Helicopter Change Now in Title 8

By a majority vote following a public hearing, the following revision to a Title 8 safety order has been adopted by the Cal/OSH Standards Board. It has been approved by the Office of Administrative Law and now is in the California Code of Regulations. HELICOPTERS USED IN LOGGING OPERATIONS: A Revision to Logging and Sawmill … Read More »

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DOSH Deputy Chief on Heat Illness Enforcement: ‘We Did Quite Well’ in 2012

Due to stepped up and diligent enforcement, Cal/OSHA has enjoyed success in tackling heat illness this year and is confident the numbers will reflect its efforts at the end of the year. That’s what Cora Gherga, deputy chief of enforcement for the Division of Occupational Safety and Health, told attendees at a recent conference of … Read More »

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Cal/OSHA/LETF Whittling Away at California’s Underground Economy

California’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health has conducted more than 500 inspections of businesses so far as its part of the effort to root out the so-called “underground economy” in the Labor Enforcement Task Force (LETF). The task force replaced the former Economic and Employment Enforcement Coalition. The multi-agency coalition includes DOSH, the Division … Read More »

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Bad Fortnight: Employees Killed, Injured in a Series of Workplace Incidents

California’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH) is investigating a series of fatal and near-fatal incidents in recent weeks, many of them in Southern California, including the gruesome death of a worker who became trapped in a working oven at a food-processing plant. Other incidents include a fatality at a high-visibility freeway project in … Read More »

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Hotel Housekeepers Safety Advisory Committee Meets Oct. 23 In Oakland

The so-called “safe tucking” advisory committee authorized earlier this year by the Cal/OSH Standards Board meets Tuesday, Oct. 23, in Oakland. The committee will explore a proposed standard for hotel housekeepers submitted by the Unite Here union to protect workers from the effects of what it calls the “bed race,” including increasingly luxurious accommodations that … Read More »

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Fed-OSHA Guides on Nail Gun Safety, Distracted Driving Prevention

The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration has made available two publications that address very different hazards. Fed-OSHA announces that Nail Gun Safety — A Guide for Construction Contractors is now available in a Spanish-language version. Nail gun incidents are responsible for 37,000 emergency room visits per year nationally and the devices are used every day … Read More »

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