The California Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1973 requires a state, county, or local fire or police agency that is called to an accident involving an employee covered by the act in which a serious injury or illness, or death occurs to immediately notify the nearest office of the Division of Occupational Safety and Health by telephone. Existing law authorizes the assessment of a civil penalty against an employer or physician if a pattern or practice of violations or a willful violation of these or other specified provisions is found, as specified.

This bill would revise that immediate notification requirement to apply to accidents in which death or loss of limb occurs and would instead require a responding agency called to an accident in which a serious injury or illness, other than death or loss of limb, occurs, to notify the nearest office of the division by telephone or electronic means within 24 hours. If a responding agency fails to notify the division of an accident, the bill would require the division to allow the agency to file an amended notification and would prohibit the citing or assessment of fines against an agency that files an amended notification, as specified.

The California Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1973 requires a state, county, or local fire or police agency that is called to an accident involving an employee covered by the act in which a serious injury or illness, or death occurs to immediately notify the nearest office of the Division of Occupational Safety and Health by telephone. Existing law authorizes the assessment of a civil penalty against an employer or physician if a pattern or practice of violations or a willful violation of these or other specified provisions is found, as specified.

This bill would discontinue the requirement that the notification be made by telephone. revise that immediate notification requirement to apply to accidents in which death or loss of limb occurs and would instead require a responding agency called to an accident in which a serious injury or illness, other than death or loss of limb, occurs, to notify the nearest office of the division by telephone or electronic means within 24 hours. If a responding agency fails to notify the division of an accident, the bill would require the division to allow the agency to file an amended notification and would prohibit the citing or assessment of fines against an agency that files an amended notification, as specified.

The California Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1973 requires a state, county, or local fire or police agency that is called to an accident involving an employee covered by the act in which a serious injury or illness, or death occurs to immediately notify the nearest office of the Division of Occupational Safety and Health by telephone.

This bill would discontinue the requirement that the notification be made by telephone.

SENATE COMMITTEE ON LABOR AND INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS

Senator Steven Bradford, Chair

2017 - 2018 Regular

Bill No: AB 708 Hearing Date: June 28, 2017

Subject: Occupational safety and health: accidents: responding agency notifications

KEY ISSUES

Should a local fire or police agency responding to an accident involving an occupational injury or illness be given flexibility in when and how they are required to report the accident to the Division of Occupational Safety and Health for further worksite investigations?

Should the fire or police agency be authorized to report accidents immediately only if the accident resulted in death or loss of limb, and otherwise be allowed to report within 24 hours?

ANALYSIS

Existing law:

1. Requires all employers to provide a safe and healthy workplace, and empowers the Division of Occupational Safety and Health [DOSH, also known as Cal/OSHA, within the Department of Industrial Relations (DIR)] to issue citations if employees are exposed to workplace hazards, as specified.
2. Requires every physician, as defined, who attends any injured employee to file a complete report of that occupational injury or occupational illness in a manner prescribed by the administrative director of the Division of Workers’ Compensation.

(Labor Code §6409)

1. Defines “occupational illness” as any abnormal condition or disorder caused by exposure to environmental factors associated with employment, including acute and chronic illnesses or diseases which may be caused by inhalation, absorption, ingestion, or direct contact. [Labor Code §6409(b)]
2. Requires employers to file a report of every occupational injury or illness, as defined, of each employee which results in lost time beyond the date of the injury or illness, or which requires medical treatment beyond first aid, with the Department of Industrial Relations or, if an insured employer, with the insurer, within five days of obtaining knowledge of the injury or illness. Additionally, existing law requires:

(Labor Code §6409.1)

• 1. In every case involving a serious injury or illness, or death, a report must be made immediately by the employer to Cal/OSHA by telephone or email. Employers who violate this requirement may be assessed a civil penalty of not less than five thousand dollars ($5,000).

1. Requires, whenever a state, county, or local fire or police agency is called to an accident involving an employee’s serious injury or illness, or death, the responding agency to immediately notify the nearest office of the Division of Occupational Safety and Health by telephone. Thereafter, the division shall immediately notify the appropriate prosecuting authority of the accident. (Labor Code §6409.2)
2. Specifies that any employer or physician who fails to comply with reporting requirements for occupational injuries or illnesses of employees may be assessed a civil penalty, as specified. (Labor Code §6413.5)

This Bill:

1. Revises existing reporting requirements to instead require that whenever a state, county, or local fire or police agency is called to an accident, the responding agency must:
   1. If the accident involves an employee in which death or loss of limb occurs, immediately notify the nearest Cal/OSHA office by telephone.
   2. If the accident involves a serious injury or illness, other than death or loss of limb, notify the nearest Cal/OSHA office by telephone or electronic means, including, but not limited to, email, within 24 hours.

COMMENTS

1. Background on Existing Reporting Requirements:

The California Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1973 was enacted to ensure safe and healthy conditions for workers in California. The Division of Occupational Safety and Health was created to enforce effective standards, assist and encourage safe and healthy working conditions, and to provide for research, information and training in the field of occupational safety and health. The Labor Code, California Code of Regulation, Title 8, Section 342, requires the reporting of work-related fatalities and serious injuries and illnesses. An employer must immediately contact the nearest Cal/OSHA office when any serious injury or illness, or death, of an employee occurs at a worksite or in connection with employment.

Under the regulations, “immediately” means as soon as practically possible but not longer than 8 hours after the employer knows or with diligent inquiry would have known of the death or serious injury or illness. If the employer can demonstrate that exigent circumstances exist, the time frame for the report may be made no longer than 24 hours after the incident.

Under the regulations, "serious injury or illness" is defined as any injury or illness occurring in a place of employment or in connection with any employment which requires inpatient hospitalization for a period in excess of 24 hours for other than medical observation or in which an employee suffers a loss of any member of the body or suffers any serious degree of permanent disfigurement, but does not include any injury or illness or death caused by the commission of a Penal Code violation, except the violation of Section 385 of the Penal Code, or an accident on a public street or highway.

In order to ensure that Cal/OSHA is properly notified, and begin an investigation, of work-related fatalities and serious injuries and illnesses, existing law requires that state, county, and local fire and police agencies who are responding to an occupational accident involving the death or serious injury or illness of a worker notify the nearest Cal/OSHA office by telephone immediately. These are often referred to as a “342 Report.” When making such a report, the reporting agency is required to include the following information, if available:

1. Time and date of accident.
2. Employer's name, address and telephone number.
3. Name and job title, or badge number of person reporting the accident.
4. Address of site of accident or event.
5. Name of person to contact at site of accident.
6. Name and address of injured employee(s).
7. Nature of injury.
8. Location where injured employee(s) was (were) moved to.
9. List and identity of other law enforcement agencies present at the site of accident.
10. Description of accident and whether the scene or instrumentality has been altered.

This information is necessary in order for Cal/OSHA inspectors to visit the worksite and ensure that any serious hazards are identified and abated to protect the workers and ensure that nobody else is exposed to the risk of death or serious injury or illness. A civil penalty can be assessed against employers and the responding fire and police agencies who fail to immediately report a serious injury or illness or death to Cal/OSHA.

2. Need for this bill?

The author makes reference to a 2012 occupational accident involving the Orange County Fire Authority (OCFA) as evidence of the need for this measure. On January 9, 2012, an employee of the Westminster School District suffered an injury at her place of employment. The employee had fallen while at work and injured her leg; however, OCFA was not able to determine the extent of her injury at the scene. OCFA provided assistance until an independent third - party ambulance service arrived to transport the injured employee to the hospital for treatment. Upon transferring custody and care of the injured employee to the ambulance personnel, OCFA’s involvement in the incident ended.

OCFA did not report the employee’s injury to Cal/OSHA. After learning of the employee’s injury and OCFA’s failure to report, Cal/OSHA issued a citation to OCFA for an alleged violation of section 342(b) [first responders required to report serious injuries and illnesses]. OCFA filed an appeal of the citation with the Occupational Safety and Health Appeals Board (Appeals Board) arguing that the captain in charge believed that the injury was either a sprain or a broken bone and that based on the employee’s behavior (apparent condition and refusal of pain medication) he believed the injury was not serious. Once at the hospital, the employee was treated with pain medication but did not see a doctor until the next day when it was determined that she had suffered a fractured tibia. The patient elected to have the fracture surgically repaired and was hospitalized for more than 24 hours as a result.

The Appeals Board granted OCFA’s appeal of the citation and noted the following in their decision, “OCFA did not know the injury consisted of a broken leg, and had no means to make that diagnosis when it attended to the injured employee at the school district. The OCFA therefore reasonably believed that the injury was not serious. Additionally, OCFA did not transport the injured employee to the hospital, and received no information concerning the extent of the injury from hospital staff. OCFA therefore did not know of the serious injury, and had no obligation to report under section 342(b).”

The author argues that local fire agencies have no authority to track hospitalizations once agency personnel have delivered the patient to the hospital and nothing requires the local fire agency to be notified by any entity on the status of the patient. Therefore, the author believes this measure is needed to place the reporting requirements in the hands of those with the information necessary to make accurate and timely notifications. This bill would remove the requirement that local fire and police agencies immediately notify Cal/OSHA when called to an accident resulting in serious injury or illness, other than death or loss of limb. Instead, this bill would require the responding agency to provide this information to their local Cal/OSHA office by telephone or electronic means, including email, within 24 hours.

3. Staff Comments:

As noted above, existing law requires employers to report every occupational injury or illness of its employees, and if it is a serious injury or illness or death, the employer must immediately contact Cal/OSHA by telephone or email. However, despite these requirements and potential penalties, studies have found that these injuries and illnesses are significantly underreported. To make sure that occupational accidents are promptly investigated, existing law requires that first responders and physicians also report occupational accidents. This reporting ensures that Cal/OSHA has the information they need as soon as they can get it to go out to the worksite and investigate before conditions at the worksite are changed.

This bill would provide fire and police agencies with more flexibility in when and how they must report a serious injury or illness. Unless a person has died or lost a limb (which would require an immediate call to Cal/OSHA), then the responding agency would have up to 24 hours to report it, either through a phone call or electronic means. Given the benefits that immediate reporting provides to investigations in ensuring worker safety, should fire and police agencies be given up to 24 hours to make these reports? Additionally, does Cal/OSHA have the ability to accept these types of reports electronically?

Provisions in the bill reference the “loss of a limb” as a condition that would merit an immediate call to Cal/OSHA. However, loss of limb is not defined and although it would seem to be a clear parameter, court cases have had varying interpretations. Should “loss of limb” be defined, if so how? What if the worker keeps the limb but loses the ability to use it, if crushed but still attached, would this count as a loss of limb? Should the responding agency be required to make an interpretation on what constitutes “loss of limb” based on workers’ compensation law, civil law or future regulations?

First responders are put in a position of having to make a rational determination on the seriousness of an injury or illness based on the condition of the injured worker at the scene. If the goal of this legislation is to provide more guidance and flexibility, it appears it might, unintentionally, create more ambiguity in the law which could lead to delays in investigations (potentially putting other workers at risk) as well as increased litigation.

4. Proponent Arguments:

The sponsors of the measure, the OCFA, note that they understand that Cal/OSHA relies on fire and police reports to track and investigate work site incidents that lead to serious injury, death or loss of limb. However, they argue, first responders are focused on responding to emergency incidents and there is often little time to confirm if patients are employees, to determine if they require more than 24 hours of hospitalization, or to collect all the business and patient info required for Cal/OSHA. This bill would allow them to make reports electronically using their computer aided dispatch and patient records already collected.

Proponents also note that often times a first responder will be unaware of the aftermath of a particular injury and would have no way of knowing if, and for how long, an injured person is hospitalized. According to the author, beginning in 2013 the Cal/OSHA Santa Ana District Enforcement Office began citing fire and police agencies in Orange County for not reporting incidents where hospitalization exceeded 24 hours. To address the increased scrutiny and citations, OCFA began reporting all occupational injuries regardless of severity or patient outcome. The author reports OCFA being informed that over 90% of the incidents reported since 2013 do not lead to an investigation or follow up by Cal/OSHA offices.

According to proponents, death and loss of limb are incidents first responders can clearly observe and report. As such, they argue that this bill attempts to clarify the reporting statute to give closer guidance as to how and when such reports are required as well as provide first responders with a clear process to submit accurate information to Cal/OSHA, which would thereby protect them from being subject to unfair fines.

5. Concerns:

The California Labor Federation is concerned that this measure would weaken workplace injury reporting standards arguing that Cal/OSHA needs this information reliably and without delay to ensure that any serious hazards are identified and abated. They note that despite the seriousness of refusing to report deaths and serious injuries, the failure to report is common. One review found that about 50% aren’t reported. Further, inspections following fatality or serious injury are among the most efficient uses of Cal/OSHA resources, finding violations 71% of the time. Clearly, they argue, this means that simply relying on employer reporting leaves many violations unabated resulting in far more injuries, illnesses, and even deaths on the job across the state. As first responders have no financial incentive to avoid reporting, they play a critically important role in allowing Cal/OSHA to learn of these accidents and immediately address any hazards.

The Labor Federation argues that as currently written, the additional time (giving first responders up to 24 hours to report) would give employers greater opportunity to alter the scene, hide evidence, pressure workers, and engage in other activities to reduce the likelihood that Cal/OSHA could accurately assess the hazard – further exposing workers. In addition, they note, the phrase “loss of limb” is both arbitrary and unclear. While a hazard that costs a worker a limb or limbs would certainly qualify as serious, many other injuries would as well, including crushed body parts that remain attached, impalements, severed arteries, toxic air causing permanent brain damage, and countless others. Furthermore, it’s unclear whether severely damaged or partially severed limbs would meet the “loss of limb” standard. They believe that disputes over the definition of this phrase would certainly arise and likely require litigation before the Cal/OSHA Appeals Board.

Additionally, they argue that this bill allows first responders to report serious injuries via “telephone or other electronic means, including but not limited to, email.” This would allow first responders to report life-threatening injuries via text message, fax, social media, or even proprietary and subscription-only electronic forms of communication. They argue that expecting every Cal/OSHA district office to maintain and frequently monitor countless such electronic—and potentially very expensive—systems from thousands of first responders and first responder agencies and firms would be, to say the least, unworkable resulting in delays in the agency’s ability to learn of serious hazards and at worst a total inability to do so.

Overall, the Labor Federation argues that these provisions would offer only confusion and increased litigation for every first responder in the state. Reports would still be required but allowed later after the injury, allowing employers more time to hide evidence, intimidate workers, and avoid penalty. Cal/OSHA’s ongoing struggle with inadequate reporting would worsen while reports still filed would become harder to find on time if at all. But worst of all, they argue, as hazards would be more likely to continue unabated, the impact to workers would be less safe workplaces and more fatalities and injuries.

6. Opponent Arguments:

None received.

SUPPORT

Orange County Fire Authority (Sponsor)

California Fire Chiefs Association

California State Sheriff’s Association

Fire Districts Association of California

OPPOSITION

None received

CONCERNS

California Labor Federation

-- END --

ASSEMBLY THIRD READING

ATR Bill Id:AB 708

Author:(Quirk-Silva)

As Amended Ver:May 2, 2017

Majority vote

SUMMARY: Revises the requirements for when a state, county, or local fire or police agency (Agency) must notify the Division of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH) regarding an accident. Specifically, this bill:

1. Clarifies that an agency, when called to an accident involving an employee in which a death or loss of limb occurs must contact DOSH by telephone immediately.
2. Allows an agency, when called to an accident involving a serious injury or illness, to contact DOSH by either telephone or other electronic means, within 24 hours.

EXISTING LAW:

1. Requires a state, county, or local fire or police agency that is called to an accident involving an employee in which a serious injury or illness, or death occurs to immediately notify the nearest DOSH office by telephone.
2. Authorizes the assessment of a civil penalty against an employer or physician if a pattern or practice of violations or a willful violation of these or other specified provisions is found, as specified.

FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee, ongoing annual costs of approximately $240,000 to DOSH as a result of the delayed investigations that could occur as a result of this bill. Allowing a local public safety agency additional time to notify DOSH of non-lethal but serious work-related injuries would result in more simplicity for those agencies and help them ensure that their reporting is accurate. However, the delayed notification is likely to impose some additional costs on DOSH because worksite investigations will be hindered by the passage of additional time between when the injury occurred and when the investigation can begin.

COMMENTS: According to the bill's sponsor, the Orange County Fire Authority (OFCA), this bill will clarify the process for situations when what is not apparently a serious injury at first becomes one after first responders have addressed the situation. In 2013, the local DOSH enforcement office began citing local agencies for not reporting incidence where hospitalization exceeded 24 hours. However, OFCA argues that they were not informed of these hospitalizations. In their letter of support, OFCA cites an example of an employee with an apparent ankle sprain who was treated by OFCA medics, but afterward was hospitalized for a broken bone. In this situation, OFCA was not notified, and could therefore not report the event to DOSH.

Analysis Prepared by: Jennifer Richard / L. & E. / (916) 319-2091 FN: 0000686

Date of Hearing: May 17, 2017

ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS

Lorena Gonzalez Fletcher, Chair

ABPCA Bill Id:AB 708

Author:(Quirk-Silva) – As Amended Ver:May 2, 2017

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

SUMMARY:

This bill revises the requirements for when a state, county, or local fire or police agency (Agency) must notify the Division of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH) regarding an accident. Specifically, this bill:

1. Clarifies that an agency, when called to an accident involving an employee in which a death or loss of limb occurs must contact DOSH by telephone immediately.
2. Allows an agency, when called to an accident involving a serious injury or illness, to contact DOSH by either telephone or other electronic means, within 24 hours.

FISCAL EFFECT:

Ongoing annual costs of approximately $240,000 to DOSH as a result of the delayed investigations that could occur as a result of this bill. Allowing a local public safety agency additional time to notify DOSH of non-lethal but serious work-related injuries would result in more simplicity for those agencies and help them ensure that their reporting is accurate. However, the delayed notification is likely to impose some additional costs on DOSH because worksite investigations will be hindered by the passage of additional time between when the injury occurred and when the investigation can begin.

COMMENTS:

1. Background. Currently, state, county, and local fire and police agencies are required to contact the nearest DOSH office by telephone in the case of work-connected fatalities and serious injuries and illnesses. The reporting party must include specified information, including contact information and the nature of the injury. DOSH collects this information in order for inspectors to visit the worksite and ensure that any serious hazards are identified and abated.

Under existing requirements, a local agency must call DOSH when there is a serious injury or illness at a worksite. Regulations include in this definition as an injury or illness in connection with work that requires inpatient hospitalization for longer than 24 hours.

1. Purpose. According to the bill’s sponsor, the Orange County Fire Authority (OFCA), AB 708 will clarify the process for situations when what is not apparently a serious injury at first becomes one after first responders have addressed the situation. In 2013, the local DOSH enforcement office began citing local agencies for not reporting incidence where hospitalization exceeded 24 hours. However, OFCA argues that they were not informed of these hospitalizations. In their letter of support, OFCA cites an example of an employee with an apparent ankle sprain who was treated by OFCA medics, but afterward was hospitalized for a broken bone. In this situation, OFCA was not notified, and could therefore not report the event to DOSH.

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

Date of Hearing: April 19, 2017

ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON LABOR AND EMPLOYMENT

Tony Thurmond, Chair

ABPCA Bill Id:AB 708 (

Author:Quirk-Silva) – As Amended Ver:April 5, 2017

SUBJECT: Occupational safety and health: accidents: responding agency notifications

SUMMARY: Revises the requirements for a state, county, or local fire or police agency to notify the Division of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH) when those agencies are called to an accident involving an employee’s serious injury or illness or the employee’s death.

Specifically, this bill:

1. Requires police and fire agencies to immediately notify DOSH after responding to an incident involving a worker’s death or loss of limb.
2. Requires police and fire agencies to notify the nearest DOSH office by telephone or electronic means within 24 hours of being called to an incident in which a serious injury or illness, other than death or loss of limb, occurs.
3. Requires DOSH to notify a fire or policy agency, when the agency has failed to give DOSH appropriate notice of the above circumstances allows the agency to file an amended notification
4. Prohibits DOSH from the citing or assessment of fines against an agency that files an amended notification, as specified.

EXISTING LAW:

1. Requires a state, county, or local fire or police agency that is called to an accident involving an employee in which a serious injury or illness, or death occurs to immediately notify the nearest DOSH office by telephone.
2. Authorizes the assessment of a civil penalty against an employer or physician if a pattern or practice of violations or a willful violation of these or other specified provisions is found, as specified.

FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown

COMMENTS: The California Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1973(Cal/OSHA) was enacted by the Legislature to ensure safe and healthy conditions for working people in California. The Division of Occupational Safety and Health was created to enforce effective standards, assist and encourage safe and healthy working conditions, and to provide for research, information and training in the field of occupational safety and health.

The Labor Code, California Code of Regulation, Title 8, Section 342, require the reporting of work-connected fatalities and serious injuries and illnesses. Under Cal/OSHA’s regulations, an employer must immediately contact the nearest District Office of DOSH when any serious injury or illness, or death, of an employee occurs at a worksite or in connection with employment.

Under the regulations, “immediately” means as soon as practically possible but not longer than 8 hours after the employer knows or with diligent inquiry would have known of the death or serious injury or illness. If the employer can demonstrate that exigent circumstances exist, the time frame for the report may be made no longer than 24 hours after the incident.

Under the regulations, "serious injury or illness" means any injury or illness occurring in a place of employment or in connection with any employment which requires inpatient hospitalization for a period in excess of 24 hours for other than medical observation or in which an employee suffers a loss of any member of the body or suffers any serious degree of permanent disfigurement, but does not include any injury or illness or death caused by the commission of a Penal Code violation, except the violation of Section 385 of the Penal Code, or an accident on a public street or highway.

In order to ensure that DOSH is properly notified of work-connected fatalities and serious injuries and illnesses, state, county, and local fire and police agencies are required when called to an accident involving the death or serious injury or illness of a worker to notify the nearest DOSH office by telephone. These are often referred to as a “342 Report.”

When making such a report, the reporting party is required to include the following information, if available:

1. Time and date of accident.
2. Employer's name, address and telephone number.
3. Name and job title, or badge number of person reporting the accident.
4. Address of site of accident or event.
5. Name of person to contact at site of accident.
6. Name and address of injured employee(s).
7. Nature of injury.
8. Location where injured employee(s) was(were) moved to.
9. List and identity of other law enforcement agencies present at the site of accident.
10. Description of accident and whether the accident scene or instrumentality has been altered.

DOSH needs this information in order for inspectors to visit the worksite and ensure that any serious hazards are identified and abated, so no additional workers are exposed to the risk of death or serious injury or illness.

Under the Labor Code a $5,000 civil penalty can be assessed against employers who fail to immediately report a serious injury or illness or death. This penalty was added by AB 2837(Koretz), Chapter 885, Statutes of 2002. The legislative history of AB 2837 (Koretz) indicates that the impetus for the bill was raised in a series of articles in Orange County Register in October 2001 which reported on problems with fatal workplace accidents in Orange County that were not reported or investigated in a timely manner. That issue was also discussed at a hearing of the Senate Committee on Labor and Industrial Relations in November 2001.

In 2013, the Occupational Safety and Appeals Board upheld a citation and $1,000 civil penalty against the Orange County Fire Authority (OCFA) for failing to report to DOSH in 2011 that an employee who was working as a drywall finisher while on the job in Yorba Linda fell 13 feet from a scaffold to the cement floor below. OCFA was called to the scene of the accident, and transported Valenzuela to a hospital, where he had surgery to treat his injuries and where he remained for four days.

Arguments in Support

According to the sponsor, OCFA,

“Up until 2013, OCFA personnel reported injuries that they believed met the requirement based on the information available to them while on scene. However, beginning in 2013 the CAL/OSHA Santa Ana District Enforcement Office began citing fire and police agencies in Orange County for not reporting incidents where hospitalization exceeded 24 hours.

At the time we informed the CAL/OSHA Santa Ana District Enforcement Office that patients, employers, and hospitals do not inform OCFA of hospitalizations. There is no authority or practical process for fire agencies to track hospitalizations. For example, an employee with what appears to be an ankle sprain treated by OCFA medics may decline treatment or transport to the hospital. The patient may experience continued pain, or for precautions visit their doctor/urgent care, and discover it is a fractured or broken bone. The doctor and patient may choose treatment that includes surgery resulting in hospitalization over 24 hours. At no time in that process is OCFA notified, nor should we be notified.

To address the increased scrutiny and citations by Orange County CAL/OSHA we began reporting all injuries on job sites regardless of severity or patient outcome. This resulted in over 2,000 reports annually just from OCFA to CAL/OSHA. In our meetings with CAL/OSHA, we have been informed that over 90% of the incidents reported since 2013 do not lead to an investigation or follow up by their offices.

We believe that the law should be amended to place the reporting requirement in the hands of those with the information necessary to make accurate and timely notifications. Also, we believe electronic reporting that CAL/OSHA is beginning to implement with hospitals will result in better reports of employee hospitalizations.”

The California Fire Chiefs Association (CFCA) and the Fire Districts Association of California (FDAC) that the bill, “would provide first responders a clear process to submit accurate information to Cal/OSHA, which would thereby protect them from being subject to unfair fines by Cal/OSHA. CFCA and FDAC argues, that this bill prevents inappropriate and unreasonable fine assessments against local police and fire agencies.

Arguments in Opposition

The California Labor Federation argues that this measure would increase the likelihood of on-the-job injury by weakening workplace injury reporting standards. They also claim that, despite the seriousness of refusing to report deaths and serious injuries, the failure to report is common. According to the California Labor Federation, one review found that about 50% work-related deaths and serious injuries are not reported. Yet, inspections following fatality or serious injury find violations 71% of the time and are among the most efficient uses of Cal/OSHA resources.

The California Labor Federation asserts some employers risk $5,000 penalty for failing to report a serious injury or death in the workplace in order to avoid paying potentially far more in health and safety violation-related fines. They argue that simply relying on employer reporting of these incidents will leave many violations unabated and many workers at risk.

The California Labor Federation continues that the bill “would eliminate the penalty for first responder failures to report, as long as a report was filed after DOSH already learned of the violation through some other means. This would essentially mean that first responders could ignore their reporting responsibilities and avoid any penalties, as long as a report was eventually filed ,if DOSH ever learns of the injury or fatality.”

The California Labor Federation claims, “The effect of this change could be catastrophic to workers… Were this bill to become law, employers would know that not even first responders would face a penalty for failing to report, and even more employers might choose to not call Cal/OSHA—even when an incident was serious enough to warrant calling 911. This could mean that even the most serious hazards, including those that have already crippled or killed someone, could go unnoticed by the agency and unabated by the employer.”

REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:

Support

California Fire Chiefs Association

Fire Districts Association of California

Opposition

California Labor Federation, AFL-CIO

Analysis Prepared by: Jennifer Richard / L. & E. /