Blog Archives

Department Of Industrial Relations Declares October Apprenticeship Month

The Department of Industrial Relations, Division of Apprenticeship Standards, is honoring apprentices throughout the month of October in conjunction with the 68th anniversary of the Shelley-Maloney Act that established the basic features of California’s apprenticeship program in 1939. According to the DIR’s press release, the public infrastructure work requires apprentices in a ratio of one-apprentice-to-every-five-journeyman … Read More »

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Appeals Board Dismissal Of Willful Violation Triggers Regulatory Action

When a janitorial worker was seriously injured using an inherently unsafe technique to access a rooftop work location, the Division of Occupational Safety and Health slapped a citation for serious/willful violation on his employer. But the Cal/OSH Appeals Board slapped down DOSH, saying even though the employer willfully overlooked the hazard, the Division couldn’t contort … Read More »

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Appeals Board Reverses ALJ On Construction Hoists In Fatality Case

A double fatality during the construction of the Grand Sheraton in Sacramento spurred changes in Title 8 on the strength of hoistway doors on construction elevators. But the facts of the case didn’t support a set of citations the Division of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH) issued to the employer, the Cal/OSH Appeals Board has … Read More »

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Construction Incidents Kill Workers

California’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH) is investigating two fatalities and two serious injury incidents in recent days, involving construction workers and a theme park worker. Sept. 24: An employee of Shimmick Construction Co. was killed at a reservoir project in San Francisco’s Sunset District. The worker was sandblasting the ceiling of the … Read More »

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Feds To Finally Take Diacetyl Action?

With Congress working on legislation to force Fed-OSHA to ban the flavoring chemical diacetyl, the agency announces it has initiated three actions intended to “address concerns regarding diacetyl exposure.” Fed-OSHA says it will initiate rulemaking under Section 6 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act. That section authorizes the U.S. Secretary of Labor to promulgate … Read More »

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Half-Century Of Safety

CROWS LANDING – Cal/OSHA’s Voluntary Protection Program (VPP) has turned 51. Not bad for a program that started in the 1970s. The addition of four new employers brings VPP 51 Star sites, its highest-ever level. In recent weeks, Hamilton Sundstrand of Long Beach, Rohm and Haas of La Mirada, Georgia-Pacific Gypsum of Antioch, and Covanta … Read More »

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Fleetwood: A Variance “Guaranteed To Make No One Happy”

Among the 51 variance requests approved, denied and postponed was a decision on the contentious Fleetwood Motor Homes variance. The board deferred a vote on the request until October because it had little time to study the complicated matter, but it is poised to grant the variance – subject to a host of conditions. As … Read More »

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