After it canceled changes that were planned for its COVID-19 emergency standard last week, the Cal/OSHA Standards Board has introduced new, more relaxed revisions that it will vote on at its June 17 meeting. The Standards Board decided to cancel the revisions in response to the California Department of Public Health’s new guidance that vaccinated people will not need to mask […]
As the economy starts waking up from the ravages of the COVID-19 pandemic and more companies rehire workers or bring them back to the workplace, businesses will be faced with a number of risks that they may not have had to contend with in the past. That’s the conclusion of a new report, “New Emerging […]
When was the last time you or the person responsible for safety walked around your facility, warehouse, office or workplace and did an inspection? Your Injury and Illness Prevention Program states that the owner, supervisor or person with authority and responsibility shall conduct periodic workplace safety inspections. To maintain a safe and healthful workplace, OSHA […]
The owners of a California flooring installation company allegedly underreported their payroll amounts to workers’ compensation insurers to the tune of $30 million, costing the insurance company almost $4 million in premiums. The men are each facing three felony charges. These are the potential consequences for those who deliberately falsify their payroll records and reports […]
California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara has approved a regulatory filing that will change the premium threshold for employers to qualify for an experience modifier (X-Mod). The approval was part of a larger regulatory filing the Workers’ Compensation Rating Bureau made to also change expected claims costs, eliminate a few class codes and make new rules […]
As summer nears many companies are ramping up hiring of teen workers, and many companies are taking them on as they deal with the labor shortage as the country emerges from the pandemic. Others employ them year round. Taking on a teen worker comes with added responsibility in terms of compliance with state and federal […]
The deadline is fast approaching for employers with 50 or more staff in California, and who do not already offer their employees a retirement plan, to register for the CalSavers Retirement Savings Program. As of April 7, more than 10,000 employers had already registered for the program, which will allow employees to set aside a […]
Governor Newsom signed legislation in March that requires California employers with more than 25 workers to provide them with up to 80 hours of COVID-19-related paid sick leave. The new law even requires employers to pay workers that took COVID-19-related sick leave prior to March for the time they took off. The law is retroactive to […]
New legislation would, if passed, bar employers in California from testing for cannabis use to deny or terminate employment. The measure, AB 1256, would bar employers from using hair or urine tests to check if their employees use marijuana, because such checks do not test actual impairment but rather that a person has used marijuana […]