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 Adminis-trative Law and are now in the California Code of Regulations: DOUBLE CLEAT LADDERS: Revisions to Construction Safety Orders (CSO) 1629 were heard at the Nov. …
Sharp-eyed readers will notice that the last case in this week’s Decisions section (Harter Tomato Products) has a nice, round number – 20,000. This case marks the 10,000th we’ve published since our beginnings in 1974. (COR founder Fred Strahm started the Decisions with 10,000.) All of our cases – dating back to the very beginning …
LOS ANGELES – The Division of Occupational Safety and Health’s (DOSH’s) success with unannounced inspection projects for the construction and agriculture industries has prompted the Division to consider a similar program concentrating on the bloodborne pathogens standard. Cal/OSHA Chief John Howard told the April 5 meeting of the Cal/OSHA Advisory Committee that DOSH will discuss …
Fed-OSHA’s recent final rule making major changes to its recordkeeping regulation is in limbo, officially signaled by the agency pulling back from the federal Office of Management and Budget (OMB) a filing on the package regarding employers’ paperwork burden. The rule is still under review by the Bush administration. According to Fed-OSHA’s Jim Maddux, the …
Textile manufacturers that use a new-and-improved method of washing cotton to eliminate the risk of “brown lung” disease are now exempt from all provisions of the federal cotton dust standard except the recordkeeping and medical surveillance requirements. Fed-OSHA published the amendments last December and, following review by the Bush administration, it became effective April 6. …
Want to be a part of the landmark project to reform and reorganize Title 8, California’s occupational safety and health code? Standards Board Senior Engineer Hans Boersma would like to hear from you. Boersma, who is coordinating the project, has put out a formal call for participation in an advisory committee for what could be …
In a recent appearance before a group of safety professionals, U.S. Treasury Secretary Paul O’Neill, a captain of industry who is respected for his commitment to worker safety, suggested a novel – and exceedingly simple – approach to safety and health regulations. O’Neill suggested that all federal safety and health standards should be replaced by …
The Assembly Committee on Labor and Employment has scheduled hearings on the following two bills for later this month: AB 1069: On April 18, the committee will consider this bill, authored by Assemblyman Paul Koretz (D-West Hollywood). It would stay a dismissal of a labor discrimination complaint by the state Labor Commissioner if the worker …