By a majority vote following public hearings, the Cal/OSH Standards Board has adopted the following revisions to Title 8 safety orders. They have been approved by the Office of Administrative Law and are now in the California Code of Regulations. CONFINED SPACE REQUIREMENTS FOR MANHOLES, VAULTS, OR SIMILAR STRUCTURES: Revisions to Electrical Safety Orders 2943 …
While the sobering events of Sept. 11 dominate the public consciousness and will for some time to come, life goes on and other issues remain. Not long after the terrorist attacks, two organizations representing safety and health personnel from the public sector met at different ends of California to hash out some of those now-seemingly …
The Cal/OSH Appeals Board recently issued orders vacating seven Decisions After Reconsideration (DARs) from 1999 in which it had granted Shea-Kiewit-Kenny (SKK) relief from civil penalties for safety order violations. The board’s action was taken pursuant to orders by Judge Ronald B. Robie of the Sacramento Superior Court, dated April 24, 2001. Vacating the DARs …
Responding to a recent spate of incidents in which anthrax-contaminated correspondence was sent to various organizations, Cal/OSHA Chief John Howard has issued a series of guidelines to workers in the Division of Occupational Safety and Health on the safe handling of mail. One man died and a number of other people have been exposed to …
SAN DIEGO – With the continuing bad news on the California economy, the Division of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH) enforcement program faces serious challenges in the coming year, even as the Division seeks to increase year-to-year performance. DOSH Chief John Howard and Deputy Chief for Enforcement Vicky Heza outlined the suddenly grim situation at …
In the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in New York and Washington, D.C., occupational safety and health training providers are adding seminars on various aspects of terrorism to their schedules. For instance, a symposium entitled “Silicon Valley: Assessing Our Exposure to Terrorism” will be held Nov. 8 at Applied Materials in Santa Clara. …
The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration has announced it is delaying until Jan. 1, 2003, the effective date for three provisions of its recordkeeping revisions. The rest of the rule goes into effect Jan. 1, 2002. The three provisions in question include the criteria for recording work-related hearing loss; the regulation’s definition of “musculoskeletal …
As expected, Gov. Gray Davis has vetoed SB 71, the workers’ compensation benefits legislation, and AB 1176, a companion bill. In a veto message, the governor recognized that it is time to increase benefits for injured workers, but had several problems with the legislation, not the least of which was its cost. “I am concerned …