A new online tool from State Compensation Insurance Fund aims to help employers create an effective Injury and Illness Prevention Program. The program is free and open to all, even those who aren’t State Fund clients. “We know that the IIPP is the foundation of a good safety program and we want employers to be …
Back in February, Fed-OSHA told the Cal/OSHA Standards Board that its safety proposal on technical diving was not “at least as effective as” (ALEA) the federal counterpart. Almost eight months later, the board has responded: With one exception, it’s not changing the proposal. The rulemaking is a multi-year effort to update the standards in General …
Eleven California organizations have been awarded a total of almost $1.5 million in Fed-OSHA Susan Harwood training grants for fiscal-year 2020. They are among 80 grants nationally, worth $11.2 million. California’s share represents 13% of the total. There are three types of grants, including: targeted topic, capacity building pilots and follow-on grants. Here are the …
Several months after the traditional fall-prevention stand-down events would have been held, the whole country stood down in the midst of a pandemic that came from Wuhan China. Business leaders, labor organizations, community groups, and other construction industry participated in virtual or socially distanced events this week. It was led by Fed-OSHA, which kicked off …
Fed-OSHA’s latest evaluation of the Cal/OSHA program found a few new issues, seemingly minor. But it made very sure to mention the program’s most glaring problem: The raft of vacancies at both the inspector and manager levels. The annual report is known as the Federal Annual Monitoring and Evaluation (FAME). Cal/OSHA relies on federal funding …
A Cal/OSHA regulatory revision to make sure employers know that drop-starting chainsaws in tree work is not permitted is in the books. It takes effect October 1st after approval by the state Office of Administrative Law. The Cal/OSHA Standards Board adopted the change to General Industry Safety Orders §3420(b) in December 2019. The issue that …
Cal/OSHA quidance says a COVID-19 case is recordable even if there is no positive test to confirm the diagnosis. And that is a big issue. Major Cal/OSHA stakeholders opine the Division of Occupational Safety and Health’s guidelines for when and how employers should record cases of COVID-19 are out of compliance with federal requirements. Under …