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Labor Code §6401.7.
Injury Prevention Programs
(a) Every employer
shall establish, implement, and maintain an effective injury prevention
program. The program shall be written, except as provided in
subdivision (e), and shall include, but not be limited to, the following
elements:
(1) Identification of the person or persons responsible for
implementing the program.
(2) The employer's system for identifying and evaluating workplace
hazards, including scheduled periodic inspections to identify unsafe
conditions and work practices.
(3) The employer's methods and procedures for correcting unsafe or
unhealthy conditions and work practices in a timely manner.
(4) An occupational health and safety training program designed to
instruct employees in general safe and healthy work practices and to provide
specific instruction with respect to hazards specific to each employee's job
assignment.
(5) The employer's system for communicating with employees on
occupational health and safety matters, including provisions designed to
encourage employees to inform the employer of hazards at the worksite
without fear of reprisal.
(6) The employer's system for ensuring that employees comply with
safe and healthy work practices, which may include disciplinary action.
(b) The employer shall correct unsafe and
unhealthy conditions and work practices in a timely manner based on the
severity of the hazard.
(c) The employer shall train all employees when the training
program is first established, all new employees, and all employees given a
new job assignment, and shall train employees whenever new substances,
processes, procedures, or equipment are introduced to the workplace and
represent a new hazard, and whenever the employer receives notification of a
new or previously unrecognized hazard. Beginning January 1, 1994, an
employer in the construction industry who is required to be licensed under
Chapter 9 (commencing with Section 7000) of Division 3 of the Business and
Professions Code may use employee
training provided to the employer's employees under a construction industry
occupational safety and health training program approved by the division to
comply with the requirements of subdivision (a) relating to employee
training, and shall only be required to provide training on hazards specific
to an employee's job duties.
(d) The employer shall keep appropriate records of steps taken
to implement and maintain the program. Beginning January 1, 1994, an
employer in the construction industry who is required to be licensed under
Chapter 9 (commencing with Section 7000) of Division 3 of the Business and
Professions Code may use records
relating to employee training provided to the employer in connection with an
occupational safety and health training program approved by the division to
comply with the requirements of this subdivision, and shall only be required
to keep records of those steps taken to implement and maintain the program
with respect to hazards specific to an employee' s job duties.
(e)
(1) The standards board shall adopt
a standard setting forth the employer's duties under this section, on or
before January 1, 1991, consistent with the requirements specified in
subdivisions (a), (b), (c), and (d). The standards board, in
adopting the standard, shall include substantial compliance criteria for
use in evaluating an employer's injury prevention program. The board
may adopt less stringent criteria for employers with few employees and for
employers in industries with insignificant occupational safety or health
hazards.
(2) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), for employers
with fewer than 20 employees who are in industries that are not on a
designated list of high hazard industries and who have a workers'
compensation experience modification rate of 1.1 or less, and for any
employers with fewer than 20 employees who are in industries that are on a
designated list of low hazard industries, the board shall adopt a standard
setting forth the employer's duties under this section consistent with the
requirements specified in subdivisions (a), (b), and (c), except that the
standard shall only require written documentation to the extent of
documenting the person or persons responsible for implementing the program
pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (a), keeping a record of periodic
inspections pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (a), and keeping a
record of employee training pursuant to paragraph (4) of subdivision (a). To any extent beyond the specifications of this subdivision, the standard
shall not require the employer to keep the records specified in
subdivision (d). (3) The division shall establish a list of
high hazard industries using the methods prescribed in Section 6314.1 for
identifying and targeting employers in high hazard industries. For
purposes of this subdivision, the "designated list of high hazard
industries" shall be the list established pursuant to this paragraph. For the purpose of implementing this subdivision, the Department of
Industrial Relations shall periodically review, and as necessary revise,
the list. (4) For the purpose of implementing this
subdivision, the Department of Industrial Relations shall also establish a
list of low hazard industries, and shall periodically review, and as
necessary revise, that list.
(f) The standard adopted pursuant to subdivision (e) shall
specifically permit employer and employee occupational safety and health
committees to be included in the employer's injury prevention program. The board shall establish criteria for use in evaluating employer and
employee occupational safety and health committees. The criteria shall
include minimum duties, including the following:
(1) Review of
the employer's (A) periodic, scheduled worksite inspections, (B)
investigation of causes of incidents resulting in injury, illness, or
exposure to hazardous substances, and (C) investigation of any alleged
hazardous condition brought to the attention of any committee member.
When determined necessary by the committee, the committee may conduct its
own inspections and investigations.
(2) Upon request from
the division, verification of abatement action taken by the employer as
specified in division citations. If an employer's
occupational safety and health committee meets the criteria established by the board, it shall be presumed to be in
substantial compliance with paragraph (5) of subdivision (a).
(g) The division shall adopt regulations
specifying the procedures for selecting employee representatives for
employer-employee occupational health and safety committees when these
procedures are not specified in an applicable collective bargaining
agreement. No employee or employee organization shall be held liable
for any act or omission in connection with a health and safety committee.
(h) The employer's injury prevention program,
as required by this section, shall cover all of the employer's employees and
all other workers who the employer controls or directs and directly
supervises on the job to the extent these workers are exposed to worksite
and job assignment specific hazards. Nothing in this subdivision shall
affect the obligations of a contractor or other employer which controls or
directs and directly supervises its own employees on the job.
(i) Where a contractor supplies its employee to a state agency
employer on a temporary basis, the state agency employer may assess a fee
upon the contractor to reimburse the state agency for the additional costs,
if any, of including the contract employee within the state agency's injury
prevention program.
(j)
(1) The division shall prepare a Model Injury and Illness
Prevention Program for Non-High-Hazard Employment, and shall make copies of
the model program prepared pursuant to this subdivision available to
employers, upon request, for posting in the workplace. An employer who
adopts and implements the model program prepared by the division pursuant to
this paragraph in good faith shall not be assessed a
civil
penalty for the first citation for a violation of this section issued after
the employer's adoption and implementation of the model program.
(2) For purposes of this subdivision, the division shall establish
a list of non-high-hazard industries in California, that may include the
industries that, pursuant to Section 14316 of Title 8 of the California
Code of Regulations, are not
currently required to keep records of occupational injuries and illnesses
under Article 2 (commencing with Section 14301) of Subchapter 1 of Chapter
7 of Division 1 of Title 8 of the California
Code of Regulations. These
industries, identified by their Standard Industrial Classification
Codes, as published by the United States Office of Management and Budget in
the Manual of Standard Industrial Classification Codes, 1987 Edition, are
apparel and accessory stores (Code
56), eating and drinking places (Code
58), miscellaneous retail (Code
59), finance,
insurance, and real estate (Codes 60-67), personal services (Code
72), business services (Code
73), motion pictures (Code 78)
except motion picture production and allied services (Code
781), legal services (Code 81),
educational services (Code 82),
social services (Code 83),
museums, art galleries, and botanical and zoological gardens (Code
84), membership organizations (Code
86), engineering, accounting, research, management, and related services (Code
87), private households (Code 88),
and miscellaneous services (Code
89). To further identify industries that may be included on the list, the
division shall also consider data from a rating organization as defined in
Section 11750.1 of the Insurance Code,
the Division of Labor Statistics
and Research, including the logs of occupational injuries and illnesses
maintained by employers on Form CAL/OSHA No. 200, or its equivalent, as
required by Section 14301 of Title 8 of the California
Code of Regulations, and all other
appropriate
information. The list shall be established by June 30, 1994, and shall
be reviewed, and as necessary revised, biennially.
(3) The
division shall prepare a Model Injury and Illness
Prevention Program for Employers in Industries with Intermittent
Employment, and shall determine which industries have historically utilized
seasonal or intermittent employees. An employer in an industry
determined by the division to have historically utilized seasonal or
intermittent employees shall be deemed to have complied with the
requirements of subdivision (a) with respect to a written injury prevention
program if the employer adopts the model program prepared by the division
pursuant to this paragraph and complies with
any instructions relating thereto.
(k) With respect to any county, city, city and county, or district, or any
public or quasi-public corporation or public agency therein, including any
public entity, other than a state agency, that is a member of, or created
by, a joint powers agreement, the provisions of subdivision (d) shall not
apply.
Updated 6/30/2008 | |
