The California Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1973 provides the Division of Occupational Safety and Health within the Department of Industrial Relations with the power, jurisdiction, and supervision over all employment and places of employment necessary to enforce and administer all occupational health and safety laws,and standards and to protect employees. The Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board, an independent entity within the department, has the exclusive authority to adopt occupational safety and health standards within the state. Existing law requires every employer to comply with those standards. A violation of these standards and regulations under specific circumstances is a crime.

This bill would require the board to adopt occupational safety and health standards for state public works projects to prevent and control coccidioidomycosis, more commonly known as Valley Fever. By expanding the definition of an existing crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

Date of Hearing: April 4, 2018

ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS

Lorena Gonzalez Fletcher, Chair

ABPCA Bill Id:AB 1789

Author:(Salas) – As Introduced Ver:January 8, 2018

Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: Yes Reimbursable: No

SUMMARY:

This bill requires the Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board (Board) to adopt Valley Fever standards for state public works projects. These standards must require employers to take certain steps to limit the risk of Valley Fever, such as minimizing worker exposure to spores and identifying knowledgeable health care providers to treat the illness.

FISCAL EFFECT:

Annual costs of $275,000 in each of the first five years for the Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) to develop rules and regulations, and then $2 million each year thereafter for investigations and enforcement. (Occupational Safety and Health Fund)

COMMENTS:

1. Background. Valley Fever is a fungal infection that can be contracted by breathing in microscopic spores from the air. While most people who contract the disease do not get sick, some develop flu-like symptoms that can last months. In some rare cases, the disease can be fatal. California’s Valley Fever incidence rates have increased as a result of the drought, and in 2017 the number of confirmed cases grew by 34%.
2. Purpose. According to the author, AB 1789 will allow Cal/OSHA to strengthen and improve protections against Valley Fever while providing greater clarity for employers. The author notes that while Cal/OSHA already regulates health and safety standards, these standards are not specifically targeted to prevent Valley Fever.
3. Excluded workers. As currently drafted, AB 1789 requires new proposed standards for public works projects only which mainly involve construction workers. While construction workers are vulnerable to Valley Fever because of their outdoor work conditions, other at-risk individuals such as farmworkers are not covered by this bill.
4. Related legislation. This bill is part of a package of bills that aims to improve detection and prevention of Valley Fever:

AB 1788 (Salas) authorizes the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) to use laboratory criteria, with or without a clinical criteria, for confirming a case of Valley Fever.

AB 1880 (Fong and Salas) requires CDPH to collect specified data on Valley Fever cases.

AB 1881 (Fong and Salas) requires CDPH to develop a standardized methodology for testing for Valley Fever.

Analysis Prepared by: Luke Reidenbach / APPR. / (916) 319-2081

Date of Hearing: March 14, 2018

ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON LABOR AND EMPLOYMENT

Tony Thurmond, Chair

ABPCA Bill Id:AB 1789 (

Author:Salas) – As Introduced Ver:January 8, 2018

SUBJECT: Occupational safety and health: Valley Fever

SUMMARY: Requires the Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board (Board) to adopt standards related to coccidioidomycosis, more commonly known as Valley Fever. Specifically, this bill:

1. Requires the Board to adopt occupational safety and health standards for state public works projects to prevent and control Valley Fever.
2. Requires the Board to develop standards that, among others, mandate employers to adopt practices that minimize worker as well as public exposure to spores, have knowledgeable practices for training workers on standards, reporting and bookkeeping for incidents.
3. Authorizes the Board to take other actions it deems necessary.

EXISTING LAW:

1. Establishes the California Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1973, which provides the Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) within the Department of Industrial Relations (DIR) with the power, jurisdiction, and supervision overall employment and places of employment necessary to enforce and administer all occupational health and safety laws, and standards and to protect employees.
2. Establishes the Board, as an independent entity, within the DIR.
3. Provides the Board with the exclusive authority to adopt, amend, or repeal occupational safety and health standards within the state

FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown

COMMENTS: According to the author, “Currently, Cal/OSHA regulates workers’ health and safety at their worksite, but they are not specifically targeted to prevent Valley Fever. The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) has recommendations on their website that can further prevent Valley Fever among workers, but these are optional. This bill would allow Cal/OSHA to strengthen and improve protections against Valley Fever while providing greater clarity for employers to meet these standards.”

The Centers for Disease Control describes Valley Fever as an infection caused by Coccidioides, a fungus that lives in the soil. Individuals can contract Valley Fever by breathing the microscopic fungal spores from the air, but not from infected individuals. The Central Valley of California known for harboring this fungus. The CDPH lists the counties with the greatest incidence rates as: Fresno, Kern, Kings, Madera, Merced, San Luis Obispo, and Tulare. The majority of individuals who contract Valley Fever do not get sick, while others develop flu-like symptoms, including fever, cough and extreme fatigue that can last months. In rarer cases, the spores can enter the bloodstream and lead to a long-term health issues, including death.

Due to California’s drought, Valley Fever incidence rates have increased as the dirt has grown dry and winds have lifted the spores into the air. This has proved a particular problem for workers in the Central Valley, where agricultural tilling or construction has led to fungal spores being swept into the wind and inhaled by workers. The CDPH reported that cases in 2017 grew by 34 percent from the year before.

According to a DIR press release from November 2017, six construction companies working on the California Flats Solar Project in the Cholame Hills of Monterey County were collectively fined $241,950 for failing various workplace safety regulations which included failure to control employee exposure to contaminated dust at the worksite and failure to provide as well as ensure use of appropriate respiratory protection.

On the DIR website, there is a portal dedicated to the Valley Fever which provides best practices for employers and applicable regulations with regard to Valley Fever protection and exposure which can be found in the California Code of Regulations, Title 8, Section 342 (Reporting Work-Connected Fatalities and Serious Injuries), 2302 (Injury and Illness Prevention), 5141 (Control of Harmful Exposures), 5144 (Respiratory Protection), and 14300 (Employer Records Log).

Within these regulations lies an employer's legal responsibility to control worker exposure to hazardous airborne materials and to immediately report work-related injury, illness, or death to Cal/OSHA.

Related Legislation

AB 1788 (Salas) of 2018 authorizes the CDPH, for the purpose of reports confirming a case of Valley Fever, to use a laboratory criteria for diagnosis, with or without a clinical criteria.

AB 1880 (Fong and Salas) of 2018 requires the CDPH to collect data on coccidioidomycosis cases on or before April 1 each year, among other things.

AB 1881 (Fong and Salas) of 2018 encourages a medical provider to order, or a city or county public health laboratory to use, two specified blood tests in suspected cases of coccidioidomycosis, but would allow the ordering or use of other types of tests. AB 1881 also would require the CDPH to develop standardized methodology for specified coccidioidomycosis tests to ensure comparable sensitivity and specificity among laboratories, among other things.

AB 266 (Bonta) Statutes of 2015 requires Cal/OSHA to convene an advisory committee to evaluate whether there is a need to develop industry-specific regulations related to the activities of facilities issued a permit to cultivate, distribute, transport, store, manufacture, process, or sell commercial medicinal and adult-use cannabis and also states the Board shall render a decision regarding the adoption of industry-specific regulations by July 1, 2017,.

AB 2146 (Skinner) Statutes of 2014 requires Cal/OSHA to convene an advisory committee to evaluate whether changes are needed to align certain safety standards relating to personal protective clothing and equipment for firefighters with standards promulgated by the National Fire Protection Association, among other things.

REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:

Support

Valley Fever Americas Foundation

Opposition

None on file.

Analysis Prepared by: Rodolfo Rivera Aquino/ Jennifer Richard / L. & E. /