The personnel situation at Cal/OSHA’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health looks dire – the agency has an alarming vacancy rate of 35%. But Chief Jeff Killip says that rate is misleading, and while acknowledging the continuing challenges for the personnel-starved agency, he expresses optimism. He notes that hiring has steadily increased since the Department …
Two California employers are facing potential five-figure Cal/OSHA penalties in the wake of two fatal incidents earlier this year involving heavy machinery. The Division of Occupational Safety and Health cited Botanas Mexico, a distributor based in South El Monte, for three serious violations and one regulatory and $35,820 in proposed penalties in the May 25th …
Employer representatives have complained long and loud about what they see as a lack of meaningful interaction with Cal/OSHA’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health during the development of health standards. Topics include silica, wildfire smoke, COVID, lead, and indoor heat illness. Lead, in particular, has been a recent focus of criticism, given the significant …
Cal/OSHA’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health and Standards Board has approved beginning work on an emergency temporary standard to protect engineered stone fabrication industry employees from silica exposure. Work is set to begin in the next few weeks. The ETS will be followed by permanent changes to Cal/OSHA’s current silica standard, General Industry Safety …
Cal/OSHA is 50 years old and perhaps it needs some rebranding. That could be the thinking behind a recent memorandum from Division of Occupational Safety and Health Chief Jeff Killip seeking suggestions for a potential “tag line” for the agency. Cal-OSHA Reporter has obtained a copy of the memo. “We are creating a Cal/OSHA tagline …
Those in the Cal/OSHA community who’ve been around a long time remember the bad old days when the Appeals Board had a considerable backlog. It was in the early 2000s and took years and considerable effort to clear. Beginning with the successful effort to clear the cases, the Board has taken on a “customer service” …
Cal/OSHA is adding a new regional office and two new district offices, Cal-OSHA Reporter has learned. The changes include a new regional office based in Fresno, a High Hazard Unit office in that city, and new district offices in Santa Barbara and Riverside counties. The move comes against a backdrop of personnel issues as DOSH …
The Injury and Illness Prevention Program standards – for general industry and construction – continue to be the most cited Cal/OSHA Title 8 safety orders, according to statistics released by California’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health. Could it be the least followed or most misunderstood common regulation? On the appeal side, the fatality and …