Workplace Safety

The California Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board is about to pass long-awaited rules to protect workers from indoor heat. The governor’s office demoted the board’s chairperson and removed another member who criticized the administration.

State workplace safety officials plan to protect employees from indoor heat this summer. But due to cost concerns, a separate rule is in the works for state prisons that will take more time.

The US Labor Department investigated a company it says employed underaged workers as deboners then shipped its product. The company’s lawyer denies it.

The Private Attorneys General Act is a unique California law making it easier for employees to sue their bosses. For two decades, it's been the subject of political and legal infighting but a pending ballot measure would decide its fate.

Under two new laws, employers in California can’t ask workers about their use of cannabis outside the workplace and can’t use hair or urine tests. Employees in construction are excluded, as are applicants for federal jobs with background checks.

The Exclusive Poultry Inc. agreed to pay $3.8 million in wages, damages and penalties in part for hiring children for dangerous work. The case is one of hundreds federal labor officials investigated last year.

More workers are filing claims with the state alleging employers are retaliating against them for engaging in legally protected activities, such as seeking overtime pay or reporting wage theft or discrimination. The state’s waitlist for investigations and hearings is growing, and few workers have won their claims.

A workers comp study says one day above 100 degrees can cause 15% more accidents, costing workers and employers millions. A new advisory panel may help the state improve its work heat rules.

With a death toll of more than 7,000 Californians in 2021, the opioid epidemic has become one of the state’s most vexing issues. The Legislature is considering several minor bills related to fentanyl — including creating an anti-fentanyl-abuse task force and increasing fines for dealers — but Republican lawmakers voice frustration that the state isn’t […]

Workers from a variety of industries urged Cal/OSHA's board to quickly pass new rules for hot, indoor workplaces.