Blog Archives

Water, Shade Violations in 100°F-Plus Heat — EEEC Shuts Down More Farm Labor Contractors

During enforcement sweeps in the Coachella Valley and San Diego County last week, California’s Economic and Employment Enforcement Coalition (EEEC), which includes the Division of Occupational Safety and Health, shut down five farm labor contractors (FLCs) for heat illness prevention violations that the coalition said put workers in serious danger. The shutdowns follow similar actions … Read More »

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Vertical Lifts: Union Opposes Practice, but Wants to Improve Regulation

SAN DIEGO — The union representing maritime workers had some suggestions for improving rules governing a practice it actually opposes, and a one-sentence change to a previously adopted regulation generated plenty of comments at a Standards Board public hearing May 21. A third proposal that would allow the American National Standards Institute to accredit crane … Read More »

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Zoonotics Standard Aims to Nip Farm-Borne Pathogens in the Bud

SAN DIEGO — While the aerosol-transmissible diseases (ATD) standard is designed to protect workers from pathogens on the front line of health care, the second of the twin transmissible-disease standards adopted by the Cal/OSH Standards Board on May 21 places protections at worksites behind those lines, but where novel pathogens sometimes begin. New General Industry … Read More »

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Petition Seeks Use of Governor Switch to Detect Speeding Elevators

A petition to the Cal/OSH Standards Board seeks a change to the Elevator Safety Orders (ESO) to allow use of governor overspeed switches to detect when an ascending elevator is moving too fast and threatens to strike a hoistway overhead structure. Debbie Prince, code specialist for Motion Control Engineering, Inc., of Rancho Cordova, filed the … Read More »

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Senate Keeping an Eye on Appeals Board, but will let Committee Work

SACRAMENTO — “You don’t seem arrogant,” Sen. Mark DeSaulnier said to Candice Traeger, chair of the Cal/OSH Appeals Board. The scene was a May 13 hearing of the state Senate Labor and Industrial Relations Committee that asked the question, “Does the appeals process keep California’s workplaces safe?” Traeger’s determined efforts to reshape the Appeals Board … Read More »

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Wal-Mart Tagged over Needle Sticks

Wal-Mart’s Yuba City superstore is facing citations for alleged serious violations of Cal/OSHA’s bloodborne pathogens standard after a store employee was diagnosed with Hepatitis B. Now, more than 25 workers at the store are facing medical evaluations to determine if they have contracted the serious – and sometimes deadly – liver condition. Health authorities have … Read More »

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AGC Honors Safety Director Who Lives the Harry Eckstein Ethos

A safety director described as “living what Harry Eckstein was all about” has received the award named after the construction safety guru. Corey Ward, of The Clark Construction Group, is this year’s Harry Eckstein Safety Professional of the Year. The award was presented May 13 in Monterey by Associated General Contractors of California. The association … Read More »

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In Year’s First Heat Wave, DOSH Shuts Down Three FLCs in One Week

With California’s hot season under way, Cal/OSHA is turning up the heat on farm labor contractors to ensure they protect workers from heat illness. In the past 10 days, the Division of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH) has issued orders prohibiting use to three contractors because of heat illness prevention deficiencies. The shutdowns included a … Read More »

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