The long-running effort to adopt federal changes on so-called walking/working surfaces has new draft language. The Cal/OSHA Standards Board is seeking stakeholder comments on the revisions by mid-June. In 2016, Fed-OSHA adopted changes intended to prevent falls from common working surfaces. The Board has held several advisory committees over the years. It is still unclear …
Those hoping the Cal/OSHA Standards Board would act urgently on rulemaking to ban the fabrication and installation of engineered stone in the Golden State were poised to be disappointed by the Board’s decision on the petition, announced on May 15. It was voted on yesterday in Los Angeles. But instead of what critics described as …
Cal/OSHA’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health revised its draft regulation on general industry workplace violence prevention. The Division is accepting comments on its latest iteration of General Industry Safety Orders §3343 until June 1st. What happens next is the question. For the time being, DOSH is enforcing workplace violence prevention requirements through the California …
A national trade organization for outdoor power equipment has petitioned the Cal/OSHA Standards Board to update its standard on power lawn mowers. The regulation, General Industry Safety Orders §3563, was first adopted in 1978 and has been amended three times, the last in 2010. The Outdoor Power Equipment Institute (OPEI), based in Alexandria, Virginia, seeks …
This week has seen the annual national Safety Stand-Down to Prevent Falls in Construction, where crews at worksites take a break from their everyday chores to reinforce the importance of fall protection. Falls are continually one of the biggest sources of serious injuries and fatalities. California sees its share of falls, and there have been …
Cal/OSHA’s Bureau of Investigations has published its 2024 annual report, bringing the Bureau up to date on public release of its legislatively mandated annual reports. The report is over a year late. More reporting is due. The 2025 report was to have been submitted by the Division of Occupational Safety and Health to the Department …
The six-month clock is ticking down on the Cal/OSHA Standards Board. Time is running out, as the Board approaches its decision on whether to ban the fabrication of engineered stone in California. The rulemaking body is getting pressure from all sides. Attorneys appeared at the recent Board meeting in Santa Rosa on behalf of clients …
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 …