BILL ANALYSIS �
Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
Senator Kevin de Le�n, Chair
AB 1634 (Skinner) - Occupational Safety and Health: Violations
Amended: As Introduced Policy Vote: L&IR 3-1
Urgency: No Mandate: No
Hearing Date: June 23, 2014
Consultant: Robert Ingenito
This bill meets the criteria for referral to the Suspense File.
Bill Summary: AB 1634 would provide that any appeal of a
citation that is classified and cited as a serious violation, a
repeat serious violation, or a willful violation cannot stay the
abatement dates unless the Division of Occupational Safety and
Health (DOSH) determines that a stay of the abatement will not
adversely impact the health and safety of employees.
Fiscal Impact: The Department of Industrial Relations (DIR)
estimates that it would incur annual costs of about $1 million
(special funds) to implement the provisions of the bill.
Background: Under current law, DOSH may issue a citation or
notice of proposed penalty to an employer if it determines that
the employer has violated existing law. The citation is
required to be in writing and specifically describe the nature
of the violation. Moreover, current law requires the citation
to fix a reasonable time for the abatement of the alleged
violation. An employer may appeal to the Occupational Safety
and Health Appeals Board (OSHAB) within 15 working days of
receiving the citation. However, there is generally no
obligation for an employer to abate the alleged violation while
the appeal is pending, even if that timeframe extends for months
or even years; consequently, a workplace could remain dangerous
for an extended period after a DOSH inspector has ruled it to be
unsafe.
Proposed Law: This bill would provide that an appeal of a
citation that is classified and cited as a serious, repeat
serious, or willful serious violation shall not stay the
abatement periods and requirements unless DOSH determines that a
stay will not adversely affect the health and safety of
employees.
AB 1634 (Skinner)
Page 1
Related Legislation: AB 1165 (Skinner) of 2013 was similar to
this bill. AB 1165 was vetoed by the Governor.
Staff Comments: In response to concerns that employers could be
using the appeal process to delay abatement, OSHAB promulgated
regulations in 2013 that would expedite hearings. Available data
indicate that roughly 80 percent of the cases were abated within
90 days. Determinations that a stay of abatement would not
adversely affect the health and safety of employees and
confirmation of what measures the employer would provide to
ensure worker safety and health would also require investigation
and other workload of the Division, resulting in additional
costs.