CAL/OSHA: EMPLOYER CITED FOR WILLFUL HEAT VIOLATIONS
We have periodically reported on the latest news from the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA), be it informing our readers about updated regulations for agricultural employers or providing updates on citations issued for non-compliance or willful violations. This month, Cal/OSHA released information on citations totaling almost $300,000 against a California landscape maintenance company for willful violations of the state’s heat illness prevention regulations, the first of its kind. Cal/OSHA found that the company deliberately and knowingly failed to follow certain heat protection requirements.
Let’s take a closer look at the cited violations:
- The landscape company failed to provide employees with required protections, such as access to water, shaded areas, and proper training on preventing heat-related illnesses.
- Employees lacked written procedures for addressing work conditions in high temperatures, which often exceeded 95 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Employees also had to purchase their own drinking water, a breach of California's heat illness prevention standard.
- Cal/OSHA previously cited the same company in 2022 for failing to meet heat safety requirements, and although the company was ordered to implement preventive measures according to the model heat illness prevention plan, this went unheeded.
As a refresher, employers are required to comply with the following standards regulated by Cal/OSHA:
- heat illness prevention standard
- injury and illness prevention standard
- indoor heat illness protections
Details on heat illness prevention requirements and training materials are posted on Cal/OSHA’s Heat Illness Prevention web page and the 99calor.org informational website. A Heat Illness Prevention online tool is also available on Cal/OSHA’s website.
Questions?
- Employers who have questions or need assistance with workplace health and safety programs can call Cal/OSHA’s Consultation Services Branch at 800-963-9424 or send an e-mail to [email protected].
- Reach out to Rosasco Law Group at any time to make sure you are on the right path to compliance with California’s injury and illness prevention standards and indoor/outdoor heat illness prevention standards!
