Those in the Cal/OSHA community who’ve been around a long time remember the bad old days when the Appeals Board had a considerable backlog. It was in the early 2000s and took years and considerable effort to clear. Beginning with the successful effort to clear the cases, the Board has taken on a “customer service” …
California’s Office of Administrative Law has signed off on the Cal/OSHA Appeals Board’s regulation-making video hearings permanent. The revisions to Title 8 §§ 372.6, 372.8, 376, and 376.8 become effective on July 1st. The rules are intended to create a consistent system for video hearings. The lack of a formal system was a major complaint …
The Cal/OSHA Appeals Board has approved nine settlements in fatality cases, including one dating back a decade. Here are the results of these cases, and some compliance tips to help avoid similar tragedies. There is a huge takeaway and a common theme in the fines. The takeaway must be a question about how and why …
Here’s how soon the rules could be in place and how they would work. The Cal/OSHA Appeals Board has submitted formal rules recognizing video hearings to the state Office of Administrative Law. Board Chair Ed Lowry says the rulemaking package likely will take effect on July 1st. California courts so far have backed the Board …
A Cal/OSHA Appeals Board Decision After Reconsideration that allowed the Division of Occupational Safety and Health to amend a citation after a hearing does not constitute a de facto “underground regulation.” At least so says the Division in a briefing to the California Court Appeal. It answers a briefing submitted earlier this year by the …
The Cal/OSHA Appeals Board has issued what amounts to a precedential decision on a key issue. The case narrows down what “as close as practicable” means in terms of providing water to prevent heat illness. The DAR also gives clarity on how a violation qualifies as a repeat. And in an unusual move, the Board …
A 10-foot fall by a construction worker at a Rancho Cordova residential project in 2016 turned into an almost eight-year legal battle between his employer and Cal/OSHA. The case, L&S Framing, has reached the California Court of Appeal, where the employer’s attorney, Manuel Melgoza, accuses the Appeals Board and Division of Occupational Safety and Health …
A review of recent employer settlements with the Cal/OSHA Appeals Board included one case that particularly stood out: Lamps Plus in Redlands appeared to face failure-to-abate (FTA) penalties of almost $353,000 in a foot-protection case. But the settlement order showed the violation of General Industry Safety Orders §3385(a) was “reclassified to repeat serious & reduced …