In the leadup to Cal/OSHA’s COVID emergency temporary standard (ETS), many stakeholders touted the Injury and Illness Prevention Program standard as the model for regulating during a pandemic, instead of an ETS. In fact, before the COVID standard went into effect, DOSH cited more than three dozen employers under the IIPP standard for violations related …
California Governor Gavin Newsom has signed four bills affecting occupational safety and health. Once is controversial legislation establishing new “egregious violations,” and a bill aimed at curbing quota abuse at warehouse operations such as Amazon. The governor signed bills addressing household domestic work and wildfire smoke respirators for agricultural employees. The most ambitious and controversial …
Two defendants – a Cal/OSHA District Manager and an Attorney – have pleaded guilty and been sentenced in Orange County Superior Court in a bribery and conspiracy case involving Cal/OSHA citations. The California Department of Justice prosecuted the case, Richard Fazlollahi, a former Santa Ana district manager for Cal/OSHA’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health, …
Should the time an employee spent in the emergency room after an accident count toward the “inpatient hospitalization” clock for reporting serious injuries? A Cal/OSHA Appeals Board Decision After Reconsideration says it does count. The case involves Target Corp. and an injury that occurred in August 2017 at a Rosemead Target store. An employee relocating …
Cal/OSHA and employers have concluded several workplace fatalities cases in recent weeks. Cal-OSHA Reporter here attempts to pick the most interesting and representative cases to review. Readers are reminded that in addition to fines assessed by Cal/OSHA, employers who are privately insured experience increases in the cost of workers’ comp as a result of fatalities …
A reader notes that Division of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH) regulation §342(a) states that reports of fatalities or serious injuries “shall be made by the telephone or through a specified online mechanism established by the Division for this purpose.” This requirement was established by 2019’s AB 1804, written by the Assembly Labor and Employment …
The Cal/OSHA Appeals Board is considering revising its regulation on hearings so that it can formally allow video hearings. The idea creates some controversy with employers and defense attorneys. The board has been using video hearings during the pandemic under emergency authorization. Now, it would like to incorporate video permanently. “The Appeals Board continues to …