This week, the Cal/OSHA Standards Board held a public hearing on the non-emergency version of the COVID regulation, General Industry Safety Orders §3205. The hearing and regulation come now post-pandemic when the disease has become endemic, and while few who catch it suffer serious injury. It has essentially become another flu, according to medical doctors …
Three bills of interest to the occupational safety and health community have made it to the governor’s desk. The legislature has approved a watered-down version of AB 1643 by Assemblyman Robert Rivas, D-Salinas, which initially would have required the Labor and Workforce Development Agency to convene an advisory committee at least quarterly to study the …
Four pieces of legislation related to occupational safety and health are facing final votes in the state legislature and could soon be on the governor’s desk. AB 2693, by Eloise Reyes (D-San Bernardino), extends Cal/OSHA’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health’s authority for two years to issue an Order Prohibiting Use over COVID hazards. Current …
Three bills in California of interest to the occupational safety and health community received amendments – some significant – and are moving ahead in the state legislature. The most extensive changes are to AB 1820, by Assemblyman Joaquin Arambula (D-Fresno), which as originally written, would have required Cal/OSHA to establish a Labor Trafficking Unit and …
Legislation introduced would revise Cal/OSHA’s heat illness prevention standard to account for what the author calls “ultra-high heat” – 105ºF. Assemblyman Eduardo Garcia (D-Coachella) says the increase in days with such conditions, currently 35 per year, means the current requirements of General Industry Safety Orders §3395 “are inadequate.” California leads the nation in heat illness …
The Department of Industrial Relations says its Labor Employment Task Force will lead a new initiative to inspect publicly funded housing construction sites. The aim is to ensure these projects are following labor laws, such as workplace safety and health requirements, providing workers’ comp insurance, paying prevailing wage and ensuring employees are trained. Teams from …
Two bills, one new and the other left over from last year’s legislative season, would involve Cal/OSHA. AB 257, introduced by several Assembly members, takes aim at working conditions in the fast-food industry with an advisory council that would require the Standards Board to adopt its safety recommendations. The bill, left over from the last …