After a more-than six-year hiatus, Cal/OSHA’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health is reassembling its Health Effects Advisory Committee (HEAC) to study possible revisions to permissible exposure limits (PELs) for airborne contaminants. The committee last met in December 2019 and was supposed to meet again in May 2020, but the meeting was canceled due to …
Manufacturers of engineered stone products are making a full-court press to, as they see it, keep their industry alive, amid a growing silicosis crisis. At the national level, they support House Resolution 5437 (Rep. Tom McClintock, R-CA), which would prohibit civil suits against such manufacturers and slab wholesalers for silicosis resulting from the fabrication process. …
In the late 1970s, Fred Walter, fresh out of law school, was working in personal injury defense in Southern California’s maritime industry. He moved to Northern California, where he found himself doing workers’ compensation subrogation work. “It was a step up from collections,” he remembers. “I hated it.” Hated it so much that he was …
The Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board lost a “bright light” with the passing of Bernardine Osburn, 72. She was known to all as Bernie, and for her sweet, friendly demeanor. Osburn was a 21-year associate governmental program analyst for the Board and served 32 years total in state employment. “She played an outsized role …
The Occupational Safety and Health Appeals Board is holding a Stakeholders Roundtable Discussion on January 7th in Sacramento. While that date still seems far out, the Board is recommending those wishing to attend make reservations, as seating is limited. The purpose of the roundtable is to discuss ideas for “changing and improving board processes and …
It has been an article of faith around these parts that “Cal/OSHA” refers to all of the components of the state program, but a recent note from the communications team at the Department of Industrial Relations throws this assumption into question. In a recent Cal-OSHA Reporter article about the adoption of the Confined Spaces in …
A multimillion-dollar project to automate Cal/OSHA’s information handling capabilities is about to enter its next stage – construction – officials of the Department of Industrial Relations said at the recent Cal/OSHA Advisory Committee meeting. The committee also heard about the Division’s plans for heat illness education and enforcement, its hiring progress, and updates from several …