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Ahead of summer 2025, in a May 16 announcement, the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) reminded the state’s employers of its indoor and outdoor heat illness prevention standards. The agency also reminded employers of educational materials, guidance, model programs, and other resources available from the agency, which offers annual training held statewide […]
On May 5, the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) announced the availability of new guidance clarifying the state’s updated lead exposure prevention standards for construction. Cal/OSHA’s amended lead standards for the construction industry went into effect January 1. The amended standards require employers to perform exposure assessments for employees who may be […]
SeaWorld’s Orlando theme park faces $16,550 in Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) fines after a park employee was injured during a training exercise with a killer whale, the agency announced March 21. An agency investigation concluded that the trainer wasn’t properly protected from hazards while working with the whale. OSHA cited SeaWorld with a […]
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 […]