Amended in Senate May 31, 2016

Amended in Senate April 11, 2016

Senate BillNo. 1100


Introduced by Senator Monning

February 17, 2016


An act to add Section 6354.8 to, and to repeal and amend Section 6354.7 of, the Labor Code, relating to occupational safety and health.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

SB 1100, as amended, Monning. Worker occupational safety and health training and education program.

Existing law requires the Commission on Health and Safety and Workers’ Compensation to establish and maintain a worker and occupational safety and health training and education program and requires the Director of Industrial Relations to establish an insurance loss control services coordinator position, to be funded from the Workers’ Occupational Safety and Health Education Fund. Existing law requires the director to levy and collect fees from workers’ compensation insurers for purposes of the program, with the fees to be deposited in the fund.begin insert Existing law prohibits the fee assessed against any insurer from exceeding the greater of $100 or a specified percentage of paid workersend insertbegin insert’ compensation indemnity amounts for claims reported in the previous year, as specified.end insert Moneys in the fund are available for expenditure for the above purposes upon appropriation by the Legislature.

This bill wouldbegin delete provide thatend deletebegin insert revise the calculation of the fee described above to also include a specified percentage of paid workers’ compensation medical amounts for claims reported in the previous year and would deposit those additionalend insert moneys in the Workers’ Occupational Safety and Health Educationbegin delete Fund may be applied toend deletebegin insert Fund. The bill would authorizeend insert specified collaborative work by the commission in connection with its training and education program. The bill would expand the list of purposes of the training and education program, which would be referred to as the Worker Occupational Safety and Health Training and Education Program, or WOSHTEP, to increase the number of, and assure continued capacity of, specified organizations to train workers and provide services. The bill would require, as part of WOSHTEP, that the commission collaborate with the Occupational Health Branch of the State Department of Public Health and the University of California occupational healthbegin delete centers affiliated with regional schools of medicine and public health,end deletebegin insert centers,end insert as specified. The bill would repeal duplicative provisions.

begin insert

This bill would include a change in state statute that would result in a taxpayer paying a higher tax within the meaning of Section 3 of Article XIII A of the California Constitution, and thus would require for passage the approval of 23 of the membership of each house of the Legislature.

end insert

Vote: begin deletemajority end deletebegin insert23end insert. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

P2    1

SECTION 1.  

This act shall be known, and may be cited, as
2“The Dr. Julia Quint Program for Research and Prevention of
3 Occupational Injuries and Illnesses.” The intent of this act is to
4establish a California occupational research agenda,begin delete increase
5coordination and collaboration between community occupational
6health clinics and the centers for occupational and environmental
7health,end delete
and provide training with the goals of preventing
8occupational injuries and illnesses suffered by the most vulnerable
9workers, including non-English speakers working in high-risk
10occupations, and reducing the consequences and costs of those
11injuries and illnesses through early intervention with appropriate
12care.

13

SEC. 2.  

Section 6354.7 of the Labor Code, as added by Section
1484 of Chapter 6 of the Statutes of 2002, is repealed.

15

SEC. 3.  

Section 6354.7 of the Labor Code, as added by Section
1615 of Chapter 866 of the Statutes of 2002, is amended to read:

17

6354.7.  

(a) The Workers’ Occupational Safety and Health
18Education Fund is hereby created as a special account in the State
P3    1Treasury. Proceeds of the fund may be expended, upon
2appropriation by the Legislature, by the Commission on Health
3and Safety and Workers’ Compensation for the purposes specified
4in this section and Section 6354.8 and for an insurance loss control
5services coordinator. The director shall levy and collect fees to
6fund these purposes from insurers subject to Section 6354.5.
7However, the fee assessed against any insurer shall not exceed the
8greater of one hundred dollars ($100) or 0.0286 percent of paid
9workers’ compensationbegin insert medical andend insert indemnity amounts for claims
10as reported for the previous calendar year to the designated rating
11organization for the analysis required under subdivisionsbegin delete (b)end deletebegin insert (a),
12(b),end insert
and (c) of Section 11759.1 of the Insurance Code. All fees
13shall be deposited in the fund.

14(b) The commission shall establish and maintain a worker
15occupational safety and health training and education program, to
16be referred to as the Worker Occupational Safety and Health
17Training and Education Program, or WOSHTEP. The purpose of
18the WOSHTEP shall be to promote awareness of the need for
19prevention education programs, to develop and provide injury and
20illness prevention education programs for employees and their
21begin delete representatives, to increase the number of, and to ensure continued
22capacity of, nonprofit provider organizations, including
23labor-management cooperation committees, joint
24labor-management apprentice programs, labor unions, community
25or faith-based organizations that focus on vulnerable workers, and
26state government-supported postsecondary educational institutions,
27to train workers and provide related services,end delete
begin insert representativesend insert and
28to deliver those awareness and training programs through a network
29of providers throughout the state. The commission may conduct
30the WOSHTEP directly or by means of contracts or interagency
31agreements.

32(c) The commission shall establish an advisory board for the
33WOSHTEP that includes employer and worker representatives
34and experts in occupational safety and health. The WOSHTEP
35advisory board shall guide the development of curricula, teaching
36methods, and specific course material about occupational safety
37and health, and shall assist in providing links to the target audience
38and broadening the partnerships with worker-based organizations,
39labor studies programs, and others that are able to reach the target
40audience.

P4    1(d) The WOSHTEP shall include the development and provision
2of a needed core curriculum addressing competencies for effective
3participation in workplace injury and illness prevention programs
4and on joint labor-management health and safety committees. The
5core curriculum shall include an overview of the requirements
6related to injury and illness prevention programs and hazard
7communication.

8(e) The WOSHTEP shall include the development and provision
9of additional training programs for any or all of the following
10categories:

11(1) Industries on the high hazard list.

12(2) Hazards that result in significant worker injuries, illnesses,
13or compensation costs.

14(3) Industries or trades in which workers are experiencing
15numerous or significant injuries or illnesses.

16(4) Occupational groups with special needs, such as those who
17do not speak English as their first language, workers with limited
18literacy, young workers, and other traditionally underserved
19industries or groups of workers. Priority shall be given to training
20workers who are able to train other workers and workers who have
21significant health and safety responsibilities, such as those workers
22serving on a health and safety committee or serving as designated
23safety representatives.

24(f) The WOSHTEP shall operate one or more libraries and
25distribution systems of occupational safety and health training
26material, which shall include, but not be limited to, all material
27developed by the program pursuant to this section.

28(g) The WOSHTEP advisory board shall annually prepare a
29written report evaluating the use and impact of programs
30developed.

31(h) The payment of administrative costs incurred by the
32commission in conducting the WOSHTEP shall be made from the
33Workers’ Occupational Safety and Health Education Fund.

34

SEC. 4.  

Section 6354.8 is added to the Labor Code, to read:

35

6354.8.  

In addition to the duties and functions specified in
36Section 6354.7, the Worker Occupational Safety and Health
37Training and Education Program shallbegin delete work in collaboration with:end delete
38
begin insert do both of the following:end insert

39(a) begin deleteThe end deletebegin insertWork in collaboration with theend insert Occupational Health
40Branch of the State Department of Public Health to develop and
P5    1implement a California occupational research agenda focused on
2the prevention of occupational injuries and illnesses that are most
3prevalent, serious, and costly for California employers and
4employees.

5(b) begin deleteThe end deletebegin insertThrough an agreement with theend insert University of California
6occupational health centersbegin delete affiliated with regional schools of
7medicine and public health, asend delete
established by Section 50.8, begin delete to
8 increase coordination and collaboration, including providingend delete

9begin insert provideend insert training to community-based health clinics that serve
10vulnerable workers, including non-English speakers, working in
11high-risk occupations.



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