The California Department of Industrial Relations' Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) is preparing to carry out a new bill, which was signed into law by Governor Davis on Oct. 6, 1999.
AB 1127 makes statutory changes in the Cal/OSHA, effective Jan. 1, 2000.
"This law will greatly increase the effectiveness of Cal/OSHA's enforcement efforts, and in doing so, increase the safety and health protections afforded to California's workers," said Cal/OSHA Chief John Howard.
Major changes to the Cal/OSHA include the following.
- Increasing the maximum statutory civil penalty for a serious violation from $7,000 to $25,000.
- Increasing the maximum penalty for a failure-to-abate violation from $7,000 to $15,000 a day.
- Deleting the longstanding statutory exemption for government entities from imposition of Cal/OSHA civil penalties, including failure-to-abate penalties.
- Increasing the criminal penalties of certain Cal/OSHA violations. This increases the fines and prison terms that a court may impose for certain Cal/OSHA violations.
For more information on the implementation plan for AB 1127, go to the department's Web Site at www.dir.ca.gov