. Victor Muniz, the former Cal/OSHA deputy chief for enforcement who explained to Cal-OSHA Reporter earlier this year that crews cleaning up fire sites in the Los Angeles area were ignoring safety, is still concerned. He says harmful exposures are still taking place. Muniz was deputy chief in the late 1980s and spent the rest …
As Cal-OSHA Reporter reported in last week’s Workplace Fatality Update, a nurse at the Department of State Hospitals’ Atascadero facility near Templeton died 11 days after testing positive for “active” tuberculosis (TB) and being hospitalized. Cal-OSHA Reporter determined it was worth looking into this unusual workplace fatality to learn if it portends anything more serious. …
Cal/OSHA’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health has completed fatality investigations for accidents occurring during the latter months of 2024. The Division cited many of the employers involved while declining to cite several other cases. Here are the actions DOSH has taken: Bob French Construction: DOSH has cited this Glendale construction firm for seven alleged …
After more than two years, Cal/OSHA has finally published its Top Most Cited Title 8 Safety Orders list. It has published two – one for 2023 and 2024. See the accompanying charts. The lists are considerably slimmed down, however, including only the top 10 most cited standards. In past years, in fact, for at least …
A Cal/OSHA Standards Board advisory committee formed to examine potential revisions to requirements for “self-propelled” agricultural equipment in Title 8 hasn’t yet created the recommended language. It’s still exploring the issues surrounding an almost 50-year-old regulation that was adopted before the autonomous revolution. It will report its findings to the full Board soon. However, the …
Fontana’s Verco Decking produces and rolls out approximately 30,000 tons of metal decking each year. Box stores, shopping centers, schools, hospitals, and high-rises all contain decks formed there. “We own about a 71% share of the West Coast for all steel decking,” says plant manager Tom Turley. “Anything that has concrete floors will have steel …
Cal/OSHA’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health made revisions to the draft language creating a workplace violence prevention standard for general industry. The changes are in response to comments from stakeholders at an advisory meeting last January. The agency is accepting comments until mid-July, after which it will schedule another advisory meeting. The new standard, …
The Cal/OSHA Appeals Board has worked hard over the years to make its appeals process more efficient. Given the literally thousands of cases it handles each year, it’s a laudable goal. However, employer defense attorneys tell Cal-OSHA Reporter that new requirements for prehearing conferences go too far and could place undue burdens on the defense. …