Cal-OSHA says that it is the employer’s duty to provide a safe and healthy work environment for its employees.
What are some of the very basic Cal-OSHA requirements that employers here in California must comply with?
- A formally written safety program.
- Conduct Safety Training on a regular basis.
- Provide employees with all the Safety Equipment to do the job in a way that will protect employees from work-related injuries.
There is a lot more involved in providing a Safe Work Environment. In this article, we are going to be exploring what can happen to an employer who takes the providing of the necessary protective equipment for granted or worse yet just chooses not to provide anything.
Cal-OSHA frowns on employers who fail to provide the proper safety equipment and clothing.
The case that we are going to be discussing today is an actual case that happened in Fontana California. Elite Electric made a very big mistake as they took to work on this job. They chose to ignore the most basic of all safety precautions which in their case was providing fall protection to their employees. The result was that an employee fell twenty-nine feet and was injured very badly.
On this particular job, there were the following hazards.
- 140 skylights which were a part of the roof
- One access hatch
- The roof had unguarded edges
The fines assessed as a result of the employer’s negligence.
When the Cal-OSHA officer came out to inspect he was livid that there was absolutely no fall protection had been passed out to the employees on this job site. Elite Electric got hit hard and rightfully so. The total fines were $130,125 they were hit with a total of five fines. One of those fines was a general, three of them were serious, and one was a willful serious.
- The general fine is no big deal many times you can make this go away once you abate the cause.
- Serious, this one is a major deal it is next to the highest single rating a fine can have the only higher penalty is willful. A serious fine means that should an employee be injured on the job they will have an excellent chance of taking you to civil court, and you will probably be paying for this case a very long time unless you have very deep pockets. Obviously, your Workers Comp rates are going to go through the roof for the next three years.
- Willful, this is the worst. A willful violation means that you knew the hazard was there and you chose to ignore it. If a serious is bad this one is even worse.
- Willful Serious, now you have a nightmare. A willful serious means that you intently ignored the safety of your employees and then an accident happened. This one is an automatic CIVIL LAWSUIT.
At the end of a very long day, Elite Electric is going to wish they never had. The employee as a result of his twenty-nine-foot fall was injured badly. Thankfully he did not die, or there could possibly have been criminal charges filed.
Today is not the day to play with the safety of your employees on the job site. Cal-OSHA is taking theirs very seriously.
CES Today is the experts when it comes to compliance with all of California’s State Agencies.
California Employer’s Services has been helping employers since 1997. Not only do we know the laws but we know how they are being enforced.
When it comes to Cal-OSHA Consulting we provide employers with a customized Illness and injury prevention program as part of our basic membership.
And, when it comes to HR Consulting we are the only company that provides an attorney written employee handbook customized to your business as part of our basic membership.
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