Worker injury rates for 1997 stood at 7.1 injuries per 100 workers, down from 9.4 in 1991. Only about 3.6 out of each 100 cases required days away from work or restricted work activity. That is also down from 1991 when the number stood at 4.6 for every 100 workers.
Workplace violence is also on the decline.
The number of workplace assaults and violent acts for 1997 is the lowest since the practice of keeping national fatality statistics was implemented in 1991. Currently it is estimated that approximately one hundred thousand California health care workers are injured by accidental needle sticks every year. The new regulations will require the phased-in use of sharps injury prevention devices in health care facilities by August 1, 1999. Total premium cost for employers is now at the lowest level in twenty years, which is something no one would have thought possible prior to the 1993 reforms brought about under Governor Wilson. During 1998 the Division of Labor Statistics and Research contributed to the education of public employers by conducting three training seminars to educate the public on the intricacies of prevailing wage laws.