SACRAMENTO — The state legislature has approved AB 186 by Assemblymember Russ Bogh (R-Yucaipa), which would extend Cal/OSHA penalty refund provisions to law enforcement and firefighting. The state Senate passed the bill 36-0 Aug. 15. In May the Assembly also unanimously approved it, 78-0. AB 186 never received a “nay” vote in committee, either. It …
SACRAMENTO — Alleged violations of DOSH regulations 342, Reporting Work Fatality or Serious Injury, have been the among the top-three most cited California safety standards for the past two years. Now it is the most-appealed standard as well. Statistics released by the Division of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH) show that more than half of …
SAN FRANCISCO — California’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH) is investigating two more possible fatal cases of heat illness, both in the construction industry. In the latest case, a carpenter in the Sacramento area collapsed after his shift from what DOSH described as heat stroke and died the next day. Last week, a …
SAN FRANCISCO — California has seen more than 100 human cases of West Nile virus this summer, with two deaths, according to the latest information from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. California had by far the highest number of cases in the country; the two deaths comprised two-thirds of the fatalities nationwide. …
OAKLAND — If California hopes to avoid another disaster like the Nov. 9, 2004 pipeline explosion in Walnut Creek, all parties involved in complex, hazardous construction projects will have to communicate and cooperate better. If nothing else emerged from a July 26 meeting to start discussions of possible reforms to state law and Title 8, …
SAN FRANCISCO — Starfish and Ujcic Screen Printing are not exactly poster children for the underground economy. Both San Francisco-area companies appear to treat their workers decently. They carry workers’ compensation insurance and seemingly have a working knowledge of the safety requirements of their workplaces. But the silk-screen printing houses found themselves shut down last …
SAN FRANCISCO — Cal/OSH Appeals Board has ordered reconsideration of a case in which a citation for failure to report a serious injury and a $5,000 penalty was upheld by an administrative law judge. The board also granted reconsideration to an employer who also lost its Cal/OSHA case. In the reporting case, Silvercrest Western Homes …
Cal/OSH Standards Board will hold an extraordinary session Friday, Aug. 12 in Sacramento to vote on a proposed emergency regulation to prevent heat illness in outdoor workers. The meeting has been scheduled for 9 a.m. in the auditorium of 744 P St. in Sacramento. The emergency proposal, which will add 3395 to the General Industry …