Get a Tractor Personnel Carrier Variance
Tractor-mounted platforms to transport workers, have been widely used in California, particularly in the southern Central Valley and on the Central Coast. But Cal/OSHA has consistently taken the position that use of such transportation devices violates Cal/OSHA safety standards.
Reporting Work-Related Injuries, Illnesses and Deaths
An employer may encounter three kinds of work-related physical or mental harm to employees:
(1) A relatively minor injury or illness that does not require medical treatment beyond first aid or cause lost time beyond the date of the injury or illness;
(2) A serious injury or illness requiring medical treatment beyond first aid or causing lost time beyond the date of the injury or illness; or,
(3) A death.
Read more: Reporting Workplace Injuries, Illnesses and Deaths
IIPP Tools Developed
The Worker Occupational Safety and Health Training and Education Program (WOSHTEP) has published new tools to aid agricultural employers with their Injury and Illness Prevention Program (IIPP).
DPR Pest Safety for Children
The California Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR) has created a fun, useful series of seven exciting videos that show "green" ways for controlling pests. The videos, filmed in child care centers in Yolo County, can help prevent pests from entering centers and becoming hazardous to human health. (See video clip here<http://youtu.be/3FTgBZuWerM>).
Cal/OSHA Asks Standard Board for Night Work Standard
Cal/OSHA Standards Board issued a request for a night work safety standard to the Cal/OSHA Standards Board on December 2. Click here to view the proposed regulation.
Acting Cal/OSHA Chief Juliann Sum asked to Board to "augument and clarify the requirement to provide work area lighting about agricultural equipment and trucking operations during agricultural field operations..."
Safety Data Sheet (SDS) Pictograms
Cal/OSHA has adopted new federal rules for Hazard Communication, training your employees on hazardous chemicals they will encounter in the workplace. One of the changes you need to train employees about are the new Safety Data Sheets (SDS), the replacement for old Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS).
For a short video to explain the new requirement,
Author: Edward V. Walsh, III
Reed Smith Client Alert
Reprinted with author's permission. © 2013 Reed Smith LLP. All rights reserved.
This client alert is presented for general information purposes and is not intended to be and should not be taken as legal advice.
A workplace inspection by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) can result in substantial penalties where violations are found. Employers need to know their rights during an inspection, including the right to say “no” to an OSHA compliance officer (inspector) when he or she seeks to inspect a work place. The protocols to be followed by your company need to be established and understood by supervisory as well as non-supervisory employees ahead of time, and reinforced from time to time. All supervisory employees should be well-versed in the company’s OSHA access policy and must have familiarity with OSHA regulations and the company’s programs for compliance. Non-supervisory employees should understand that they have no right to grant OSHA access and should refer any such attempt to management. They also should be briefed on their rights if interviewed by OSHA in the course of an inspection.
Cal/OSHA Standards Board Amends Tree Work Rules
Effective October 25, 2012 revised rules will go into effect regarding "Tree Work Maintenance or Removal" in Title 8, Division 1, Chapter 4, Subchapter 7, Article 12, Sections 3420 - 3428 of the General Industry Safety Orders. The Board also revised provisions of the High Voltage Electrical Safety Orders §2950 to include the minimum distances when tree trimming activities are performed.
Lock-Out/Tag-Out Tools Available
The Phylmar Regulatory Roundtable (PRR) is a group of companies committed to improving workplace safety and health. The PRR Good Practices Task Force compiled information from members companies' existing safety and health programs and created materials that provide the public with a set of "successful" or "good" practices for confined space and lockout/tagout procedures. Failure to perform these procedures properly can lead to potentially life-threatening injuries to employees. The Task Force's tools provide a means for the employer to evaluate program effectiveness.