On March 18, the California Department of Industrial Relations (DIR) announced $25 million in funding for the California Workplace Outreach Project (CWOP) in support of 89 community-based organizations. The initiative promotes workplace safety and educates workers about their rights.
Twenty-one community groups in the Los Angeles region are set to receive nearly $6 million in funding to support outreach efforts for workers involved in the cleanup and rebuilding efforts following recent fires. The funds will be used to educate and assist workers on issues like health and safety, hazard prevention, immigrant worker protections, and wage theft, among other concerns.
“California offers a range of services to protect workers, but these resources can go underutilized without proper awareness,” DIR Director Katie Hagensaid in a statement. “CWOP bridges this gap by connecting workers to labor protections through trusted community groups.”
The CWOP initiative is focused on supporting workers in high-risk industries, including those involved in fire debris removal and rebuilding efforts, according to the DIR. It’s aimed at promoting safer working conditions, ensuring compliance with labor laws, and safeguarding the well-being of those most vulnerable to workplace risks by providing workers involved in cleanup and rebuilding with essential information and resources.
A significant portion of the Los Angeles-area workforce impacted by the recent wildfires is Latino, according to a report by the UCLA Latino Policy and Politics Institute.
Following the recent wildfires in Los Angeles and Ventura counties, the DIR’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) updated its guidelines for fire cleanup. It posted updated guidance for workers and employers on how to proceed rapidly and safely to address the risks associated with fire debris removal and cleanup.
Even after fires are extinguished, hazardous conditions can persist. The DIR reminded employers in the state involved in recovery and cleanup operations in fire-damaged areas to assess workers’ risks, address unsafe conditions, and ensure all workers are provided proper training. The DIR and its agencies offered worker and employer resources that included a wildfire cleanup training tool that’s available in both English and Spanish.
ASSP again recognizes tragic 1911 fire
On March 17, the American Society of Safety Professionals (ASSP) asked employers and workers to join in a moment of silence at 4:45 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) Tuesday, March 25 in recognition of the 1911 Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in New York City.
The fire resulted in the deaths of 123 women and girls working in the factory—some as young as 14 years old. The ASSP was founded months later as the United Association of Casualty Inspectors. The group was renamed the American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE) in 1914 before taking its current name in 2018.
Following the fire, exit routes, or “means of egress,” became a foundational workplace safety precaution. The doors of the Triangle Shirtwaist factory were locked to prevent theft and block labor organizers’ access, trapping workers inside. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) exit routes standard is among its oldest and most vigorously enforced rules.