For the first time in months, the Cal/OSHA Standards Board seated its full complement of members as Cassie Hilaski took over as the new management representative, and Joshua Lepper as the second labor representative. Hilaski, of Moraga, is the vice president of safety and health at Nibbi Brothers General Contractors, based in San Francisco. She …
The six-foot fall protection trigger is firmly in place for California’s residential construction. But industry advocates have one more shot at getting what they see as better alternatives for framing work. The Housing Contractors of California (HCA), California Framing Association, Residential Contractors Association, and Western States Regional Council of Carpenters petitioned the Standards Board last …
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 …