September 2014 marks the one-year anniversary of the forced resignation of Cal/OSHA Chief Ellen Widess and the start of direct rule by Department of Industrial Relations Director Christine Baker. A year later there is no permanent leadership team, the roster is riddled with vacancies, and policy decisions have lurched between “political spin” crises and administrative diktats in response.
The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) September 2 levied $1.4 billion in penalties against Pacific Gas and Electric Company’s (PG&E) for thousands of violations leading up to a September 9, 2010 pipeline explosion in San Bruno, Calif.that killed eight people and destroyed 38 homes, according to a press release from the CPUC.
After decades of speaking out against workplace hazards in this country and abroad, Garrett Brown didn’t quietly fade away when he retired from his high-ranking state regulatory job in California. He came back to hound his former employer.
Cal/OSHA Chief Ellen Widess was instructed to attend a meeting at 11 am on September3, 2013 – the day after Labor Day – with California Labor Secretary Marty Morgenstern and Department of Industrial Relations Director Christine Baker at DIR’s Oakland Headquarters.
In recent weeks, a number of communities across San Diego County in southern California have been affected by extensive wildfire activity that has scorched more than 9,000 acres and burned at least 30 homes, according to news reports. In some areas, thousands of people have been ordered to evacuate their homes.
Manufacturers will have to find safer alternatives
October 3, 2013
While efforts to reform the federal Toxic Chemicals Safety Act continue to inch slowly forward, the state of California has taken a bold regulatory leap into controlling toxic chemicals – at least those found in consumer products.
Two short, dramatic worker safety videos presenting the hazard of fatal falls on the job are now available online. Produced by the California Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation program, with support from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), the videos illustrate true stories about the death of a worker who fell through a skylight and a solar installer who fell off a roof.