49 COR 40-8644 [¶23,226R]
INJURY AND ILLNESS PREVENTION PROGRAM (IIPP) – PROCEDURES FOR IDENTIFYING AND EVALUATING WORKPLACE HAZARDS Cal. Code Regs, tit. 8, § 3203(a)(4) (2018) – Employer failed to establish, implement, and maintain an effective IIPP, because it did not effectively implement its procedures for identifying, evaluating, and correcting hazards associated with suspended loads, a general violation. INJURY AND ILLNESS PREVENTION PROGRAM (IIPP) – PROCEDURES FOR CORRECTING UNSAFE OR UNHEALTHY CONDITIONS Cal. Code Regs, tit. 8, § 3203(a)(6) (2018) – In a § 3203(a)(6) citation, the issue is generally not that the IIPP is flawed, but that the employer has neglected to implement that IIPP by failing to correct a hazard at the workplace. It is insufficient to simply tell employees to avoid the hazards posed by both pinch points and contact with suspended loads, without actually correcting either hazard. CRANES AND OTHER HOISTING EQUIPMENT – SLINGS, SAFE OPERATING PRACTICES, EMPLOYEES KEPT CLEAR OF LOADS ABOUT TO BE LIFTED AND OF SUSPENDED LOADS Cal. Code Regs, tit. 8, § 5042(a)(9) (2018) – Employer failed to keep an employee clear of a suspended load, a serious, accident-related violation. The purpose of the regulation is to protect employees from all the hazards of a suspended load, not just the danger of being immediately underneath a suspended load. DEFENSES – INDEPENDENT EMPLOYEE ACTION The Independent Employee Action affirmative defense (IEAD) is premised upon an employer meeting all five elements of the defense. Employer failed to meet four of the five elements. Further, a safety program in direct violation of a safety order cannot be well-devised.Digest of COSHAB’s Decision After Reconsideration dated January 23, 2023, Inspection No. 1300984.
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