Summary of Cal/OSHA Violations of 2017

According to the Division of Occupational Safety and Health, the majority of the most cited and most-appealed Title 8 standards in 2017 have increased over the prior year.  The majority of violations named in 2017 were the same as those that were named in 2016.  The list is comprised of the top 25 most cited and most-appealed Cal/OSHA violations, which includes serious violations (serious, willful, and repeat).

For the past several years the top three most-cited include the Injury and Illness Prevention Program (IIPP) in both construction (8 CCR §1509) and general industry (GISO §3203), as well as Heat Illness Prevention (GISO §3395).  This is disheartening yet not surprising to learn, considering that not all employers may not be aware of nor do they ensure that required documentation or implementation of these written programs (both the IIPP and Heat Illness Prevention) are set in place.  A possibility of employers (e.g., agriculture, construction, landscaping, etc.) violating the Heat Illness Prevention standard would be not allowing the gradual acclimatizing of their new workers in hot environments because of time constraints on work production as well as not providing adequate shade or potable water to the workers performing the work.

Due to DOSH’S PSM (Process Safety Management) Unit, expanded inspections in refineries has led to an increase in PSM (GISO §5189) violations.  A new addition to most cited standards of 2017 also includes tree work (GISO §3421).  The increase of citations to the tree work standard is alarming considering that tree work regularly contributes to workplace fatalities in California.  There were violations of three standards that appeared on both the most-cited and most-appealed lists, which included the lockout/tagout standard (GISO §3314); failure to timely report work-connected fatalities and serious injuries (§342(a)); and portable ladders (GISO §3276).

For employers looking for assistance with their IIPP or Heat Illness Prevention Program, The Cohen Group will be more than happy to help.  Please do not hesitate to contact us for these services.