As the worldwide pandemic begins to become endemic, Cal/OSHA’s COVID emergency temporary standard was readopted in December 2021 and becomes effective on January 14th, 2022. But what happens in April when it expires – for the last time – is controversial and open to debate. The Division of Occupational Safety and Health says it would …
Lawsuits, injunctions, variants, and regulatory turmoil. It seemed like a COVID year in 2021, or did it just seem like it because of the general media coverage? The rapidly evolving virus dominated the news and kept occupational safety and health professionals scrambling. Or was it Cal/OSHA that kept them scrambling? There were other significant developments …
There were 18 new workplace fatalities reported in the last two weeks of December, eight of them allegedly COVID-related. The others were comprised of two falls, a vehicle encounter, and explosion and six undetermined incidents. The falls were in San Bernardino and Tracy. In the former an employee of Viramontes Express, a mulch supplier, fell …
Cal/OSHA’s controversial emergency regulation on COVID protections in the workplace has been renewed – with some controversial tweaks – and will be in place until April 2022. The board voted 6-1 at its December 16th meeting, with management representative Kathleen Crawford voting no. While acknowledging that the regulation is not “perfect,” labor representatives urged the …
There are 11 new California workplace fatalities, six of them allegedly COVID-related, and three of which may not be occupationally related. The non-COVID fatalities include: An employee of United States Steel –– UPI, in Pittsburg, California, who was killed in an arc flash incident. The employee was troubleshooting switchgear panels at the plant when the …
There are three new workplace fatalities. None are COVID-related. The new fatalities include two falls and a caught-between. The falls included an incident at Sierra WES Wall Systems in San Jose, where an employee fell from the sixth floor of a building. In Fresno, an employee of All State Construction fell from a roof while …
Safety professionals come into the profession for many reasons and under many circumstances. Some make it a conscious career choice from early on. Others enter through family connections. There are many ways people enter the safety world. Lauren Mayfield, senior vice president of safety and health and loss prevention for State Compensation Insurance Fund, came …
Cal/OSHA’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health in 2020 conducted the fewest on-site inspections and issued the lowest number of violation citations in almost 30 years. The main reason cited is the lengthy shutdown of many sectors during the height of the COVID pandemic. The trend is compounded by declining numbers of inspectors and Department …