Cal/OSHA has cited two north-state law enforcement agencies in the wake of the death of an officer in March during a drug trafficking disruption operation in Olivehurst. In doing so, the agency has used powers to cite directly from the California Labor Code on workplace violence prevention. The Yuba County Sheriff’s Department faces more than …
Beginning July 1st, companies that employ household domestic service employees – including housecleaners, home care providers, and landscapers – are subject to Cal/OSHA regulations. Note that private households who hire a housecleaner, etc., are exempt, with some exceptions. This change comes courtesy of SB 1350, by Senator Maria Elena Durazo (D-Los Angeles), a 2024 law …
The Department of Industrial Relations is sharply decreasing the assessment employers will pay added to workers’ comp premium for the Occupational Safety and Health Fund. That is where much of the Cal/OSHA program funding is. The OSH Fund was established in 2008 to stabilize funding for the program. It is one of several funding mechanisms …
In June, six employees of Ruiz Farm Labor walked off the job at a Dixon tomato farm during triple-digit heat, believing they had their foreman’s permission to leave work early because of the sweltering conditions. The employees say they left work early because they began to feel ill and felt it was unsafe to continue …
The California Labor Commissioner is proposing more than $5 million in penalties against Amazon for alleged violations of AB 701, a 2021 law intended to curb warehouse quota abuse. The state alleges that Amazon warehouses in Moreno Valley and Redlands used a “peer-to-peer” quota system, which it says is exactly the kind of quota scheme …
A bill allowing local city and district attorneys to pursue civil and criminal prosecutions against employers for labor law violations is being drastically narrowed in scope. Assemblyman Brian Maienschein (D-San Diego) announced during AB 594’s first hearing that he is eliminating workers’ compensation and workplace safety and health (Cal/OSHA) from the bill’s scope. “We will …
Before long, California’s now-waterlogged farms and fields will be bustling with activity, and with a plethora of water from this season, the harvest should be busier than ever. A fatal incident from almost two years ago shows what can happen during fast-paced harvesting operations – especially during hours of darkness. In August of 2021, a …
For months, labor has criticized the decision by Cal/OSHA’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health to drop “exclusion pay” from the non-emergency version of the COVID prevention standard. Its advocacy has paid off. During the Standards Board’s October meeting in San Diego, several members of the Board, including Chair David Thomas, forcefully urged DOSH to …