Cal/OSHA Advisory Committees
| Subject | Origin | Agency | When Established | Purpose | Last Meeting | Next Meeting or Result | Contact |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Employer Representatives During Workplace Inspections | Section 331.8; Fed-OSHA initiated | DOSH/DIR | 2026 - 02 | Adopt Fed-OSHA rules on employee representatives to accompany Cal/OSHA inspectors at worksite visits | 2026 - 04 | Rulemaking underway; 15-day notice of proposed modifications posted (https://www.dir.ca.gov/dosh/doshreg/Employer-and-Employee-Reps-During-Workplace-Inspections/) | Silas Shawver, DOSH Legal Unit, (510) 286-7348 |
| Occupational Exposure to Plume in Health Care | New Section | Standards Board | 2026 - 01 | Revised discussion draft Aug. 17, 2026; comments were due Sept. 21, 2026 (https://www.dir.ca.gov/dosh/doshreg/Surgical-Plume-and-Smoke/) | Grace Delizo, (714) 567-7142 |
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| Snow Avalanche Blasting | Petition 575 | Standards Board | 2019 - 09 | Consider remote control deployment of of avalanche charges and build upon revisions to sections 5349 (Scope), 5350 (Training), 5357 (Snow Avalanche Control Blasting). | 2025 - 09 | Expressed Terms draft published | Kevin Goddard, 916-621-1418 |
| Autonomous Ag Tractors | Standards Board directive | Standards Board | 2024 - 11 | Study reforms to General Industry Safety Orders 3441(b) to allow use of autonomous ag equipment when workers are present. | 2025 - 08 | To be determined | Amalia Neidhardt, (916) 274-5731 |
| Variance Rules of Procedures | Standards Board directive | Standards Board | 2025 - 05 | Create an online variance management system. | 2025 - 06 | To be determined | Tishara Ann Davis, 916-621-1420 |
| Firefighters PPE | Labor Code | Standards Board | 2015 - 01 | Update per National Fire Protection Association standards. | 2025 - 06 | To be determined | Maryrose Chan, 916-274-5723 |
| Fall Protection in Construction, Phase II | Fed-OSHA | Standards Board | 2024 - 07 | Require 6-foot rule for Construction Safety Orders' fall protection requirements, as well as roofing operations. | 2025 - 06 | To be determined | Simone Sumeshwar, (916) 621-1415 |
| Horizontal Sliding and Swinging Gates | Petition 605 | Standards Board | 2024 - 05 | Require extra protection on gates to prevent toppling. | 2026 - 07 | To be determined | Kevin Goddard, 916-621-1418 |
| Construction Passenger Elevators | Standards Board | Standards Board | Review Construction Safety Orders Article 14 (passenger elevators). | 2026 - 06 | To be determined | Michael Nelmida, 916-274-5724 | |
| Fall Protection Plans — Interior Framing | Petition 607 | Standards Board | Federal OSHA 1926 Subpart M Appendix E fall protection plans for interior framing (§1671.3). | 2026 - 05 | To be determined | Simone Sumeshwar, (916) 621-1415 | |
| Walking-Working Surfaces | Fed-OSHA | Standards Board | 2022 - 10 | Adopt 2016 Fed-OSHA revisions aimed at preventing falls. | 2025 - 03 | To be determined | Maryrose Chan, 916-274-5723 |
| Crane Operator Certification Requirements | Petition 598 | Standards Board | 2024 - 01 | Modify an exemption in recertification process. | 2024 - 07 | To be determined | Simone Sumeshwar, (916) 621-1415 |
| Brush Chippers | Petition 549 | Standards Board | 2015 - 08 | Consider requiring passive safety device on chippers. | 2024 - 05 | To be determined | Michael Nelmida, 916-274-5724 |
| Construction Personnel Hoists | Petition 587 | Standards Board | 2019 - 04 | Determine when a CPH is required at construction projects. | 2023 - 04 | To be determined | TBD |
| Process Safety Management for Petroleum Refineries | DOSH Request , Petition 584 | Standards Board | 2020 - 05 | Revise portions of 2017 PSM reforms. | None | None | Michael Nelmida, 916-274-5724 |
| Date Palm Operations | Staff Initiated | Standards Board | 2020 - 03 | Consider allowing lift truck-mounted engineered platforms in date palm operations. | 2021 - 04 | 2026 discussion draft posted | TBD |
| Hydrogen-Powered Industrial Trucks | Staff Initiated | Standards Board | 2019 - 02 | Determine if California needs occupational safety and health requirements for hydrogen-powered PITs. | 2019 - 04 | Revised draft May 2025 | Michael Nelmida, 916-274-5724 |
| California Heat Study | AB 1643 | DOSH | 2023 - 06 | Study the effects of heat on California businesses, employees and the economy. | 2023 - 06 | To be determined | hac@dir.ca.gov |
| Heat Illness Prevention and Wildfire Smoke Revisions | AB 2243 | DOSH | 2024 - 05 | Potential revisions to GISO 3396, 3396 and 5141.1 per legislation. | None | To be determined | Eric Berg, 925-270-9791 |
| Aerosol Transmissible Diseases | Staff Initiated | DOSH | 2009 - 08 | Add COVID language to ATD and zoonotice standards. | 2021 - 10 | To be determined | Kevin Graulich, 714-662-6730 |
| Airborne Contaminant PELs | Staff Initiated | DOSH | Ongoing | Update PELs | 2020 - 05 | To be determined | Garrett Keating, 510-286-6874 |
| Antineoplastic Drugs in Healthcare | AB 1202 | DOSH | 2014 - 05 | Establish policies and procedures for safe handling of antineoplastic drugs. | 2015 - 10 | To be determined | Grace Delizo, 619-278-3770 |
| Enterprise-Wide & Egregious Violations | SB 606 | DOSH | 2024 - 08 | Establish policies and penalties for certain categories of willful violations. | 2025 - 03 | To be determined | sb606rulemakingcomments@dir.ca.gov |
| Household Domestic Service Safety | SB 321 | DOSH | 2022 - 04 | Develop recommendations to ensure the health and safety of workers in domestic settings. | 2022 - 12 | Concluded | |
| Firefighter Respiratory Protection | Staff Initiated | DOSH | 2022 - 06 | Establish respiratory protection requirements for firefighters in wildland-urban interface. | 2022 - 05 | To be determined | Michael Wilson, 510-285-7005 |
| Cannibis Industry | AB 266 | DOSH | 2016 - 10 | Determine if regulations are needed for safety in this industry. | 2016 - 10 | Sep-18 | Susan Eckhardt, 510-286-7008 |
| Naturally Occurring Asbestos in Construction | Petition 568 | Standards Board-DOSH | 2018 - 05 | Consider rulemaking proposal for construction activities in which NOA may be released. | None yet | To be determined | Chris Kirkham, 510-286-7017 |
| PSM for Petroleum Refineries | Settlement with Western States Petroleum Association | DOSH | 2025 - 01 | Revise portions of 2017 PSM reforms related to "major change," "highly hazardous materials" and "employee representative. | 2025 - 01 | To be determined | Rachel Brill, Lauren Ocadiz, 510- 286 - 7348 |
| PSM and Renewables | Petition 601 | DOSH | 2024 - 06 | Include renewable fuels facilities in PSM for refineries. | 2025 - 08 | To be determined | Michael Wilson, 510-285-7005 |
| Occupational Exposure to Plume in Health Care | AB 1007; Petition 567 | DOSH | Regulatory protections from exposure to plume in surgical procedures. | 2018 - 11 | Revised discussion draft Aug. 17, 2026; comments were due Sept. 21, 2026 (https://www.dir.ca.gov/dosh/doshreg/Surgical-Plume-and-Smoke/) | Christine Hoffman, 714-567-7412 | |
| Engineered Stone / Crystalline Silica | Petition 609 | DOSH | 2026 | Emergency rulemaking / advisory on engineered stone silica; review §5204. | 2026 - 07 | Discussion draft Sept. 16, 2026; comments due Sept. 30, 2026 (https://www.dir.ca.gov/dosh/doshreg/silica-2026/) | RS@dir.ca.gov |
| Pressure Vessel Safety Orders | Staff Initiated | DOSH | 2015 - 09 | Update safety orders for fired and unfired pressure vessels. | None | To be determined | Don Cook, 510-622-3050 |
| Workplace Violence in General Industry | Petition 542; SB 553; staff proposal | DOSH | 2016 - 01 | Establish standards to help prevent workplace violence in general industry. | 2017 - 01 | January 2025; May 2025 discussion draft | Eric Berg, 925-270-9791 |