Tagged in: Cal/OSHA

Legislation Seeks Regulatory Protections for Pollution from Mexico

Another bill is before the California Senate with requirements for Cal/OSHA. This one would require it to consider a regulation to protect outdoor workers along the California border from what the bill calls “transboundary pollution.” SB 1046 would require Cal/OSHA to propose to the Standards Board by January 1st, 2030, a standard covering park rangers, … Read More »

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Ag Experimental Variance is Still Alive

Despite the demise of a prominent autonomous tractor company at the heart of experimental variances at two California wineries, Cal/OSHA says the variances remain in place – at least for the time being. The Division of Occupational Safety and Health is evaluating two separate variances involving other autonomous equipment companies. Autonomous agricultural equipment continues to … Read More »

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Date Palm Growers Pressing for Platform Rules

Thus sayeth the Bard to the Cal/OSHA Standards Board: Get thee to a regulation! California’s date growers have been using modern safety techniques for date palms since the early part of this century, but only through Cal/OSHA variances. There have been discussions in recent years about a formal standard recognizing the practice, but so far, … Read More »

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Big Hospital Violence Case Resolved

Cal/OSHA and Sutter Bay Hospitals, which operates Mills-Peninsula Medical Center, have agreed to a $79,000 (70%) of the proposed penalty, down from a proposed $112,500, in the wake of a February 2024 workplace violence incident. A 53-year-old homeless man allegedly stabbed a 53-year-old employee who had asked him if he needed help after the man … Read More »

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Standards Board Seeks D.A.s’ Intervention

The Cal/OSHA Standards Board has written to district attorneys in the seven counties with the vast majority of silicosis cases, asking them to join Cal/OSHA “in a unified fight” to stop the disease, caused by exposure to workers who “cut, grind and polish stone countertops.” The request was sent to the D.A.s in Los Angeles, … Read More »

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New Safety-Related Legislation

As California’s legislative season sprouts, two bills of interest to the occupational safety and health community have been introduced. Neither appears particularly significant, but one should trigger some debate. That bill, AB 2499 by Assemblyman Mike Gipson (D-Gardena), would require Cal/OSHA’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health to submit a regulatory proposal to the Standards … Read More »

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MRIs: a Magnet for Hazards?

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a valuable tool in medicine, providing a clear picture of what is going on in the body. But a series of incidents, including a scary injury at a Bay Area hospital in 2023, have shown that MRIs potentially can pose hazards to employees because of the powerful magnets they use. … Read More »

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