Labor Unions Call for Stronger Enforcement of Cal/OSHA Compliance
The California Labor for Climate Justice (CLCJ), a coalition of 16 labor unions, is urging lawmakers in the state to strengthen Cal/OSHA to better protect workers from climate-related hazards in the workplace, protect workers from climate-related economic disruptions, and increase enforcement of Cal/OSHA compliance.
OSHA compliance is required to protect workers across the United States by creating a safe working environment, although some states have adopted their own safety and health standards, which provide equivalent or greater protections for workers. California was one of the first states to develop an OSHA State Plan, known as Cal/OSHA.
California has experienced record temperatures in seven of the last eight years, with many workers in the state having to work in locations where they are exposed to dangerous heat levels, including indoor and outdoor environments. California has long had safety and health requirements for workers in outdoor environments to protect against heat-related hazards, and in July 2024, the California Heat Illness Prevention in Indoor Places of Employment regulation took effect, which established similar standards for workers in indoor environments to protect against heat-related illnesses. While there are exceptions, these requirements apply to most California workplaces.
Cal/OSHA is enforced by the Department of Industrial Relations’ division of Occupational Safety and Health; however, the enforcement division is facing staff shortages, which are affecting its ability to enforce current regulations and visit unsafe workplaces and enforce Cal/OSHA compliance. Speaking at the rally and press conference, Assemblymember Tina McKinnor said the enforcement division has almost half of its positions unfilled, although its website states that the vacancy rate currently stands at 23%.
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McKinnor and the CLCJ are pushing for lawmakers to pass California Assembly Bill 694, which seeks to address the current staff shortages in the enforcement division. The bill, which has good bipartisan support, calls for the department to contract with the University of California, Berkeley Labor Occupational Health Program and the University of California, Los Angeles Labor Occupational Safety and Health Program to conduct a study to evaluate the current understaffing and vacancies in the enforcement division, and to recommend an effective strategy to establish a workforce training program for safety inspectors.
In addition to improving Cal/OSHA enforcement, the CLCJ is urging lawmakers to improve workers rights, implement stronger protections for workers to protect against climate-related hazards, create safety nets for workers displaced due to climate related disasters, develop policy solutions to transition to a clean energy economy, and accelerate job creation in the low carbon economy, as described in the California Worker Climate Bill of Rights, a visionary plan released by the CLCJ in October 2024.
