BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 1167|
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UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Bill No: SB 1167
Author: Mendoza (D)
Amended: 8/19/16
Vote: 21
SENATE LABOR & IND. REL. COMMITTEE: 4-1, 4/6/16
AYES: Mendoza, Jackson, Leno, Mitchell
NOES: Stone
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: 5-2, 5/27/16
AYES: Lara, Beall, Hill, McGuire, Mendoza
NOES: Bates, Nielsen
SENATE FLOOR: 25-12, 6/1/16
AYES: Allen, Beall, Block, De León, Glazer, Hall, Hancock,
Hernandez, Hertzberg, Hill, Hueso, Jackson, Lara, Leno, Leyva,
Liu, McGuire, Mendoza, Mitchell, Monning, Pan, Pavley, Roth,
Wieckowski, Wolk
NOES: Anderson, Bates, Berryhill, Fuller, Gaines, Huff,
Moorlach, Morrell, Nguyen, Nielsen, Stone, Vidak
NO VOTE RECORDED: Cannella, Galgiani, Runner
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 48-28, 8/24/16 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT: Employment safety: indoor workers: heat
regulations
SOURCE: California Labor Federation, AFL-CIO
Northern California District Council of the
International Longshore& Warehouse Union
DIGEST: This bill requires the Division of Occupational Safety
and Health (DOSH) to propose to the Occupational Safety and
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Health Standards Board (Standards Board) for review and
adoption, a standard that minimizes heat-related illness and
injury among workers working in indoor places of employment by
January 1, 2019.
Assembly Amendments (1) delay the due date for the standard from
July 1, 2018, to January 1, 2019; (2) require the standard to be
based on environmental temperatures, work activity levels, and
other factors; (3) require DOSH to take into consideration heat
stress and heat strain guidelines developed by the American
Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists; and (4) change
the authorship of the bill.
ANALYSIS:
Existing law:
1)Provides a framework for a safe and healthy workplace through
DOSH (also known as Cal/OSHA) and the Standards Board in the
adoption and enforcement of standards.
2)Requires all employers to provide a safe and healthy
workplace, and empowers DOSH to issue citations if evidence is
found of employee exposure to workplace hazards in violation
of a DOSH standard.
3)Requires employers, with some exceptions, to establish,
implement and maintain an effective Injury and Illness
Prevention Program (IIPP) that includes, among other things,
the following (Labor Code §6401.7):
a) A system for identifying workplace hazards, including
scheduled periodic inspections to identify unsafe
conditions and practices - as well as methods and
procedures for correcting them;
b) A training program designed to instruct employees in
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general safe and healthy work practices; and
c) A system for communicating with employees, including
provisions that encourage employees to inform employers of
hazards at the worksite without fear of reprisal.
4)Requires, under the DOSH Heat Illness Prevention regulations,
all employers with outdoor worksites to take the following
steps to protect their employees from heat illnesses:
a) Provide heat illness prevention training to all
employees;
b) Provide enough fresh water free of charge so that each
employee can drink at least one quart per hour, or four
8-ounce glasses, for the shift;
c) Provide access to shade and encourage employees to take
a cool-down rest period in the shade for at least five
minutes when an employee believes he or she needs a
preventive recovery period; and
d) Develop and implement written procedures for complying
with the heat illness prevention standard.
This bill:
1)Requires that by January 1, 2019, the DOSH propose for review
and adoption by the Standards Board, a standard that minimizes
heat-related illness and injury among workers working in
indoor places of employment.
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2)Requires the standard to be based on environmental
temperatures, work activity levels, and other factors.
3)Requires, in developing the standard, that DOSH take into
consideration heat stress and heat strain guidelines in the
2016 Threshold Limit Values and Biological Exposure Indices
developed by the American Conference of Governmental
Industrial Hygienists.
4)Specifies that these provisions do not prohibit DOSH from
proposing, or the Standards Board from adopting, a standard
that limits the application of high heat provisions to certain
industry sectors.
Background
Following a rash of heat-related deaths in the agricultural
industry in July of 2005, AB 805 (Chu) was introduced to address
heat illness by requiring the Standards Board to adopt an
occupational safety and health standard for heat illness
prevention and response for all employees at risk of heat
illness. The bill was held under submission by the Senate
Appropriations Committee; however, as a result of this
legislative push for regulatory action, the Standards Board
promulgated an outdoor heat illness prevention regulation. This
regulation requires employers to follow specified guidelines to
prevent heat illness in outdoor places of employment, as
detailed above.
Need for this bill?
A recent Occupational Safety and Health Appeals Board (Appeals
Board) decision affirms the responsibility of employers to
ensure indoor heat illness is addressed through their IIPP. The
case stemmed from a 2012 serious citation issued to Tri-State
Staffing and warehouse operator National Distribution Center for
the heat illness suffered by an employee who was working inside
a metal freight container with a temperature of over 100
degrees. DOSH penalized both companies for failing to implement
an effective IIPP and both companies appealed the citation
winning their case before an administrative law judge (ALJ). In
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March 2015, DOSH appealed that decision to the Appeals Board
stating that the employers had failed to effectively correct the
indoor hazard and had not trained employees on indoor heat
exposure. In November 2015, the ALJ's decision was overturned by
the Appeals Board reinforcing the responsibility that employers
have to protect the health and safety of their workers,
including those working indoors.
While this recent Appeals Board decision helps reinforce the
importance of indoor heat preparedness, proponents argue that it
is not enough to protect workers. This bill requires the
adoption of a standard that minimizes heat-related illness and
injury among indoor workers by January 1, 2019.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
Com.:YesLocal: Yes
According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee,
administrative costs to the Department of Industrial Relations
of approximately $232,000 (special funds) in the first year of
implementation and $224,000 (special funds) in the second year,
to create the indoor heat standard.
Enforcement costs are unknown and difficult to predict. DOSH
currently utilizes six safety engineers to enforce outdoor heat
requirements at a cost of $1.4 million annually. Cost estimates
related to enforcement of this bill could be in the $1.4 million
range if DOSH needs the same resources to enforce a new indoor
heat standard.
SUPPORT: (Verified8/24/16)
California Labor Federation, AFL-CIO (co-source)
Northern California District Council of the International
Longshore & Warehouse Union (co-source)
California Conference Board of the Amalgamated Transit Union
California Professional Firefighters
California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation
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California Teamsters Public Affairs Council
Engineers & Scientists of California, IFPTE Local 20, AFL-CIO
International Longshore and Warehouse Union
National Lawyers Guild - Labor & Employment Committee
Professional and Technical Engineers, IFPTE Local 21, AFL-CIO
United Farm Workers
UNITE-HERE, AFL-CIO
Utility Workers Union of America
Western Occupational and Environmental Medicine Association
WORKSAFE
OPPOSITION: (Verified8/24/16)
Agricultural Council of California
Associated Builders and Contractors of California
Associated General Contractors of California
CalAsian Chamber of Commerce
California Association of Joint Powers Authorities
California Association of Nurseries and Garden Centers
California Attractions and Parks Association
California Building Industry Association
California Chamber of Commerce
California Construction and Industrial Materials Association
California Cotton Ginners and Growers Association
California Cut Flower Commission
California Farm Bureau Federation
California Framing Contractors Association
California Fresh Fruit Association
California Grocers Association
California League of Food Processors
California Lodging Industry Association
California Manufacturers & Technology Association
California Nurseries and Garden Centers
California Professional Association of Specialty Contractors
California Restaurant Association
California Retailers Association
California Travel Association
Condon-Johnson & Associates, Inc.
FarWest Equipment Dealers Association
Independent Lodging Industry Association
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Motion Picture Association of America
National Federation of Independent Business
Residential Contractor's Association
Southwest California Legislative Council
Western Agricultural Processors Association
Western Growers Association
Western Steel Council
Wine Institute
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: According to proponents, every year,
an unknown number of workers in California die from heat
illness. More are hospitalized, and even far more suffer
exposure but fear retaliation and never report symptoms to their
employer. They argue that the problem affects a wide range of
workers, from warehouse workers to laundry workers to restaurant
workers where temperatures can quickly reach unsafe and deadly
levels without the proper temperature controls or cooling
systems. While current law requires employers to address all
known hazards as part of their IIPP, proponents argue that many
employers fail to maintain an adequate prevention program and
thus many workers remain at risk. Furthermore, they argue that
the IIPP is general in nature and the basic procedures set forth
in the outdoor heat illness regulations would better protect
employees facing the same hazard in indoor environments.
ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION: Opponents argue that this bill is
unnecessary since existing regulations already require employers
to have written procedures, conduct worksite evaluations,
identify and correct worksite hazards, and train employees
through their IIPPs. They argue that the IIPP provides both the
guidance as well as the flexibility in designing a proposal that
responsibly balances the health and safety of workers with
employer needs. Additionally, they note that Cal/OSHA has
prepared an instructive informational piece with recommendations
for the prevention of heat illness for indoor working
environments. Further, they argue that if in fact indoor heat
illness prevention presents a hazard which is not being
adequately addressed, Cal/OSHA has other methods with which to
effect compliance.
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ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 48-28, 8/24/16
AYES: Alejo, Arambula, Atkins, Bloom, Bonilla, Bonta, Brown,
Burke, Calderon, Campos, Chau, Chiu, Chu, Cooley, Dababneh,
Dodd, Eggman, Cristina Garcia, Gatto, Gipson, Gomez, Gonzalez,
Gordon, Roger Hernández, Holden, Irwin, Jones-Sawyer, Levine,
Lopez, Low, Maienschein, McCarty, Medina, Mullin, Nazarian,
O'Donnell, Quirk, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas, Santiago,
Mark Stone, Thurmond, Ting, Weber, Williams, Wood, Rendon
NOES: Achadjian, Travis Allen, Baker, Bigelow, Brough, Chang,
Chávez, Dahle, Beth Gaines, Gallagher, Gray, Grove, Hadley,
Harper, Jones, Kim, Lackey, Linder, Mathis, Mayes, Melendez,
Obernolte, Olsen, Patterson, Steinorth, Wagner, Waldron, Wilk
NO VOTE RECORDED: Cooper, Daly, Frazier, Eduardo Garcia
Prepared by:Alma Perez-Schwab / L. & I.R. / (916) 651-1556
8/25/16 17:37:28
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