Insight & Commentary on California Workplace Law Issues & Developments
The “cannabis industry” in California is not monolithic but is actually composed of employers in various industries. Agricultural employers cultivate cannabis, manufacturing employers process cannabis and package it, and retail employers sell the cannabis. For all these employers, Cal/OSHA imposes several workplace safety requirements that can pose compliance challenges.
Currently, Cal/OSHA does not have a…
Cal/OSHA has been working on a proposed Indoor Heat Illness Prevention Standard since 2017. Now, nearly 5 years later, the Cal/OSHA Standards Board published a draft standard and announced a public hearing on Heat Illness Prevention in Indoor Places of Employment. This comes after Cal/OSHA had stepped up enforcement of indoor heat hazards despite no…
On March 3, 2023, the Cal/OSHA Standards Board published notice of proposed revised regulations pertaining to workplace exposure to lead for the general industry and construction safety orders.
In its Initial Statement of Reasons for the revisions, the Board indicates that the existing requirements are based on lead toxicity information and medical and epidemiological data…
California employers take note: the non-emergency version of the Cal/OSHA COVID-19 Prevention regulations are now in effect.
At the end of 2022, the Cal/OSHA Standards Board voted to adopt the COVID-19 Prevention non-emergency regulations to replace the Emergency Temporary Standard(ETS).
On February 3, 2023, the California Office of Administrative Law approved the non-emergency standard.
California employers are required to post their annual summary of work-related injuries and illnesses, in a visible and easily accessible area at every worksite from February 1st through April 30th. Cal/OSHA’s Form 300A must be used for this posting.
Employers can find an overview regarding completing both the log (Form 300…
On December 15, 2022, the Cal/OSHA Standards Board held its final meeting of 2022 and adopted the COVID-19 Prevention Non-Emergency Regulations. The COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standards (ETS)will continue to remain in effect while the Office of Administrative Law (OAL) reviews the non-emergency standard.
Once approved by OAL, the non-emergency standard will remain in effect for…
On December 31, 2022, Cal/OSHA’s COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standards (ETS) finally sunset. However, the Standards Board has been working to pass a permanent standard to ensure it is in place before the expiration of the ETS. The Board has announced it will be voting on the permanent standard at its upcoming meeting on December 15…
As part of the recent legislative session, Governor Newsom signed Assembly Bill (AB) 1775, which implements new workplace safety training and certification requirements for entertainment events vendors who produce live events at public events venues.
Specifically, any business that contracts with the entertainment events vendor to set up, operate, or tear down a live…
At the end of the California legislative session, Governor Newsom signed a myriad of employment law bills, including Assembly Bill (AB) 2243, which requires Cal/OSHA to submit to the Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board a proposal to consider revising the heat illness standard and the wildfire smoke standard for farm workers to…
As Monkeypox (MPX) continues to be an issue throughout California, Cal/OSHA issued guidance to assist in protecting employees. However, this guidance applies only to workplaces covered by the Aerosol Transmissible Diseases (ATD) standard, which is notable because the guidance itself states that “MPX spreads primarily by close or direct contact with infectious rashes, lesions, scabs,…
