Opinion ID: 2358659
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Overview of Cal-OSHA

Text: (2) Cal-OSHA, codified in division 5 of the Labor Code, was enacted to assure safe and healthful working conditions for all California workers within its purview. (§ 6300.) To further this purpose, Cal-OSHA authorizes the enforcement of effective standards, assisting and encouraging employers to maintain safe and healthful working conditions. (§ 6300.) Under Cal-OSHA, the employment and place of employment provided to employees must be safe and healthful. (§ 6400, subd. (a).) Among other things, the employer must furnish and use safety devices and safeguards, adopt methods and practices that are reasonably adequate to render such employment and place of employment safe and healthful, and do every other thing reasonably necessary to protect the life, safety, and health of employees. (§ 6401.) The employer must also establish, implement, and maintain an effective injury prevention program pursuant to the Act's terms. (§ 6401.7, subd. (a).) Moreover, [e]very employer and every employee shall comply with occupational safety and health standards . . ., including all rules, regulations, and orders pursuant to the Act which are applicable to his [or her] own actions and conduct. (§ 6407.) Additionally, Cal-OSHA imposes specific responsibilities upon employers to provide information to employees and comply with recordkeeping requirements. For instance, employers must post information in their workplaces regarding employee protections and obligations under the Act. (§ 6408, subd. (a).) They must also file with the Department of Industrial Relations, Division of Labor Statistics and Research, the report of every statutorily designated physician regarding every occupational injury or occupational illness, and immediately report cases of serious injury, illness, or death. (§§ 6409, 6409.1.) (3) Not only are Cal-OSHA violations punishable by civil and/or criminal penalties (§ 6423 et seq.), but the Act specifies that [s]ections 452 and 669 of the Evidence Code shall apply to this division and to occupational safety and health standards adopted under this division in the same manner as any other statute, ordinance, or regulation. (§ 6304.5.) This means that Cal-OSHA provisions are to be treated like any other statute or regulation and may be admitted to establish a standard or duty of care in all negligence and wrongful death actions, including third party actions. ( Elsner v. Uveges (2004) 34 Cal.4th 915, 928 [22 Cal.Rptr.3d 530, 102 P.3d 915].)