On September 27, 2021, the Governor of California signed Assembly Bill 73 (AB 73) which expands worker protections from wildfire smoke.

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, California enacted Health & Safety Code section 131021 last year.  It requires the State Department of Public Health and Office of Emergency Services to establish a stockpile of

Employers may understand the workplace safety concerns surrounding wildfires, but there are other employment issues that employers should consider in the event of a wildfire near the worksite.

The California Labor Commissioner’s Office has FAQs pertaining to important employment issues that employers should consider when their employees or worksite are impacted by wildfires.

Regular

As fire season starts and some areas of California and several other states are attempting to contain wildfires, employers need to consider their obligations to employees. In some circumstances, employers must implement a variety of controls to protect employees from wildfire smoke, including engineering and administrative controls, or require the use of personal protective equipment

After receiving over 40 public comments and holding a public meeting on its proposed wildfire smoke emergency regulation, California’s Department of Industrial Relations, Division of Occupational Safety and Health (“DOSH”), has eased some requirements of the proposed rule. (If you would like more information on the proposed regulation, you can check out this previous OSHA

In the wake of the most destructive wildfire season in California history, California’s Department of Industrial Relations, Division of Occupational Safety and Health (“DOSH”), has issued a proposed emergency regulation intended to protect workers from wildfire smoke. On April 15th, 2019, DOSH released the proposed regulation and scheduled a hearing to discuss the regulation for