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California employers must provide potable water as close as possible to employees to encourage outdoor workers to consume water frequently, a California review panel decided, establishing a new precedent that clarified the state’s heat illness prevention standard’s requirement for drinking water, the Department of Industrial Relations announced February 27. “This decision provides clarity and should […]
With California’s COVID-19 emergency temporary standards (ETSs) expiring December 31, the state’s Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board (OSHSB) is considering “nonemergency” regulations that would take effect January 1. The rules would remain in effect for two years, except for recordkeeping and reporting requirements, which would remain in effect for three years. The board issued […]
State occupational safety and health regulators in California and Oregon reminded employers to protect workers from heat hazards and comply with their states’ heat illness prevention standards. On June 2, the Oregon Occupational Safety and Health Administration (Oregon OSHA) announced the release of employer assistance resources for the state’s new heat illness prevention rule. The […]
With high temperatures expected throughout California, on May 23, the state Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) reminded employers of outdoor workers to be prepared and take the necessary precautions to prevent heat illnesses. California has a state standard requiring that employers develop and implement written heat illness prevention plans, provide fresh water and […]
On May 19, the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) announced a combined $1,753,375 in fines for the Valero Refinery of Benicia and 3 of its contractors following an investigation into the confined space death of a 35-year-old worker. On November 12, 2021, a worker lost consciousness after descending into a regenerator overflow […]
On May 7, the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) issued new employer guidance on the state’s COVID-19 emergency temporary standard (ETS). On April 21, California’s Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board renewed the ETS a third time. The revised ETS is effective May 6 through December 31, and it applies to employers […]
On February 7, the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) announced the creation of an advisory committee to develop occupational safety and health guidance for domestic workers and their employers. The advisory committee was authorized by a state law, SB 321, the Health and Safety for All Workers Act, signed September 2021 by […]
The California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) began 2022 with new responsibilities and enhanced safety and health enforcement authority. A new state law regarding the use of productivity quotas at warehouse distribution centers requires Cal/OSHA to inform the state’s labor commissioner whenever an employer or a site has an annual employee injury rate […]
The California Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board December 16 readopted the state’s COVID-19 prevention emergency temporary standard (ETS), with revisions. The revised ETS incorporates the latest recommendations from the California Department of Public Health (CDPH). The readopted state ETS does not contain the vaccine-or-testing requirements of the November 5 federal ETS, which was under […]
Doug Parker, the new assistant secretary of labor for occupational safety and health, previously headed the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA). How might the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) begin to resemble Cal/OSHA? Federal OSHA already has three rulemakings in the works that delve into issues already regulated in California: […]