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Smelly Mel’s Plumbing and Sewer Rat Plumbing face a total of $529,640 in state fines for violating safety regulations that resulted in serious injuries to a construction worker during a trench collapse in San Mateo, California’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) announced February 10. Cal/OSHA cited the two employers after finding a total […]
Most of California’s COVID-19 Prevention Nonemergency Standards requirements ended this week, the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) announced February 4. State COVID-19 reporting and recordkeeping requirements, however, remain in effect until February 3, 2026. The nonemergency standards took effect February 3, 2023, and remained in effect for two years. While the state […]
Employers performing cleanup work following the recent Los Angeles and Ventura County fires are subject to California’s workplace safety and health regulations, according to the state’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA). The state workplace safety and health agency recently updated its guidelines for fire cleanup. The safety hazards of fire cleanup include demolition, […]
The California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) raised its maximum penalties for regulatory, general, willful, or repeat safety and health violations, the agency announced January 27. Cal/OSHA is a division of the state’s Department of Industrial Relations (DIR). The state workplace safety and health agency set the following maximum penalties: The agency is […]
Back to Basics is a weekly feature that highlights important but possibly overlooked information that any EHS professional should know. This week, we examine contractor and temporary worker safety. Many workplaces are staffed by workers with different employers—a host company, contractors, and staffing agencies. If you own or operate a facility, you have complete responsibility for […]
On January 7, the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) issued a wildfire smoke alert in response to the Palisades Fire’s impact on air quality in Los Angeles County’s Pacific Palisades area. The state agency reminded California employers of their duty to protect workers from the health effects of wildfire smoke. Cal/OSHA’s wildfire […]
California’s Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board voted December 19 to make the state’s emergency respirable crystalline silica (RCS) standard permanent. The rule aims to protect workers, especially those who work with artificial, man-made stone, from silica exposures. According to the standards board, the RCS standard strengthens the emergency temporary standard (ETS) that went into […]
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has released detailed case data collected by its Injury Tracking Application for calendar year 2023, the agency announced December 12. The release makes publicly available the establishment-level injury and illness summary data submitted by employers. OSHA also released a “Work Related Injury & Illness Summary” report, which includes […]
On November 7, the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) reminded employers to protect workers from wildfire smoke produced by the Mountain Fire, which is impacting air quality in areas around Ventura County. The agency referred employers to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire) for the latest information on […]
On September 9, California’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) reminded the state’s employers to protect workers from unhealthy air due to wildfire smoke. The Line Fire is currently affecting air quality in California’s Inland Empire, the areas around San Bernardino and Riverside. Cal/OSHA’s Protection from Wildfire Smoke standard requires employers to protect workers […]