The GEO Group is a private company doing business in California as Golden State Annex and owns some 95 prisons and mental health facilities worldwide. In California, it is contracted to house Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency detainees, mostly illegal aliens. A settlement between the Cal/OSHA Appeals Board and GEO affirms a decision after reconsideration …
It seems like only yesterday that we were writing about the top stories of 2023. But that was one fast-moving year ago, and now it’s time to look back at 2024, which flew by and took us with it. It was a consequential year for workplace safety in California, with echoes into the new year. …
The U.S. Department of Labor has obtained a consent decree and permanent injunction against a Southern California poultry processor for various labor law violations, including employing young teenagers to do hazardous work. The Exclusive Poultry, Inc., and its owner, Tony Bran, “endangered young workers recklessly” by exposing employees as young as 14 to sharp knives …
A Cal/OSHA requirement on construction personnel hoists is hopelessly outdated, so says a large provider of scaffolding services and hoisting equipment. It contends the requirement is hindering its ability to serve clients. BrandSafway, based in Atlanta, Georgia, petitioned the Standards Board to revise Construction Safety Orders §1604.21 to match the latest version of the American …
The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) and the Center for Construction Research and Training (CPWR) are encouraging employers, especially those in construction, to hold stand-down events to prevent a common source of injuries and fatalities – struck bys. Struck-bys are the second-leading cause of workplace fatalities nationwide, and the leading cause in …
Here are the results of some recently settled Cal/OSHA citations after injury incidents. Most settled with significant penalty reductions. Sylvester Roofing Co., Escondido: This employer has agreed to pay 100% of a $23,425 proposed penalty after an employee suffered a serious leg injury on a roofing operation. The employee was operating a portable saw to …