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 …
The Cal/OSHA Standards Board will hold another advisory committee meeting about making broad changes to regulations regarding so-called “walking/working surfaces.” The committee meets on February 22nd in Sacramento. This meeting will be the third convened by the board, following meetings in 2020 and 2022. Cal/OSHA is obligated to bring its regulations in line with the …
Ricky Miller, Jr., was an employee of Tri-Valley Amusement, Inc., owned by Charlie Gelatini. The Moose lodge hired Tri-Valley to move an ATM, and Miller and Gelantini were on hand for the project. Miller fell from a lodge-owned rolling scaffold while examining the ceiling to determine where he could run the ATM’s data cables. Miller …
Robert Peterson, the first chief counsel of the Cal/OSHA Appeals Board, who subsequently spent decades defending employers in citation cases, has died. He was 81. Peterson was a seminal figure in the development of Cal/OSHA’s legal underpinnings. “If you look back through the case law, it’s just peppered with Bob Peterson’s name,” says David Donnell, …
The first test case for applying the principle of “equitable tolling” to Cal/OSHA citation cases saw a trial court reject an employer’s arguments, upholding a serious machine-guarding violation. But attorneys representing employers say the principle could prove a lifeline to cases – both to employers and to Cal/OSHA’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health. That …
The Cal/OSHA Appeals Board is instituting a new procedure for conducting appeal status conferences. Beginning May 2nd, no longer will administrative law judges call each party to initiate the conference call. Instead, parties will be given conference line access for the appointed time. The Notice of Status Conference sent to each party in advance of …