Cal/OSHA Compliance Advisor helps safety professionals, business owners, and managers comply with the safety regulations in our state, keep your workers safe, lower workers' comp costs, and avoid safety-related fines and lawsuits.

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Frontline Supervisors, Forepersons, and Managers: Why They Are Your First Line of Defense Against Injuries and Lawsuits; How to Optimize Their Role Audio Conference Wednesday, May 28, 2008 Often times, the decision on whom to promote to a supervisory position is based on how well the person performs his or her assigned job. And it makes sense to promote a person as a reward for a job well done. But many times, the new supervisor is unintentionally set up for failure. . . . more » EHS Metrics: How to Cut Through the Clutter and Measure What's Important; Key Tips for Success Audio Conference Friday, June 13, 2008 In today's information economy, we often gather and collect information without the foggiest idea of what to do with it--and EHS professionals are not immune. You probably gather data through observations, measure incident rates, and track reports and statistics . . . more » Heat Stress at Work: How to Keep Your Employees Safe, Healthy, and Productive Audio Conference Monday, June 16, 2008 Heat stroke kills over 4,000 people annually, and thousands more suffer heat-related illnesses and injuries every year. In 2006, California became the first state to adopt a heat stress regulation after a spike of 13 heat-related deaths in 2005. . . . more » Return-to-Work Programs: How to Get Your Injured Employees Back on the Job Quickly—While Avoiding Unnecessary Legal Risks Audio Conference Originally presented on January 17, 2008 As an employer, you want your injured workers back on the job as soon as possible. But there's a lot to consider--including how to properly accommodate workers who may now be considered disabled under California's stringent Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA). . . . more » DOWNLOAD: Personal Protective Equipment; What Do You Need, When Do You Need It, and How Do You Ensure Its Effectiveness? It would be nice if workplaces could be made completely safe--if hazards could be eliminated, guarded, enclosed, rendered benign--but for some workplaces and some types of work, it just isn't going to happen . . . more » More

Toxic Mold: Preventing Mold-Related Problems in Indoor Workplaces; Guidance from Federal OSHA and California California was the first state in the nation to pass a law addressing the hazards of toxic mold in buildings: the Toxic Mold Protection Act of 2001. This act required the California Department of Health Services (DHS) to present a study to the legislature evaluating . . . more » Roofing Safety: A Review of Cal/OSHA's Requirements; Prevent Slips, Falls, Serious Injuries, and Deaths Workers on roofs are at risk for serious injuries and death from falls. Not only do they perform their jobs at substantial heights, but they may also be working on surfaces that are . . . more » Best Practices: Federal OSHA's Fundamentals of a Workplace First Aid Program; Are You Ready to Respond to Medical Emergencies? Employers in California are required to ensure that medical treatment is readily available to sick or injured workers under General Industry Safety Order Section 3400, Medical Services and First Aid. . . . more » Sign up for a trial and access more articles like these

Online Exclusive: Training: Is Your Training Program Effective? An Evaluation Checklist In the May 2008 issue of COCA, we discuss the Cal/OSH Appeals Board decision addressing RGW Construction. The Appeals Board closely examined the employer's training program and determined that it complied with the . . . more » Bulletin: Submit Entries for the ERI 2008 Safe California Workplaces Award Does your company implement proven and innovative safety practices? If yes, nominate your organization for the ERI 2008 Safe California Workplaces Award, which recognizes California employers of all sizes . . . more » Bulletin: Sign Up for Next Month's ERI Intensive Class Covering Termination Issues. One of your workers violated a company safety rule, which resulted in another employee's serious injury, and you want to fire him. Make sure you look before you leap--not knowing the law when terminating a worker . . . more » Bulletin: New Findings Reveal that Bisphenol A May Be Harmful In the March 2008 issue of COCA, we covered bisphenol A, a substance used in manufacturing many plastics (including baby bottles), as an emerging chemical of concern. Now the U.S. National Institutes of Health's National Toxicology Program . . . more » Trainer's Handbook: Forklift Operators; Is It Time to Conduct Periodic Refresher Training? Imagine if the Egyptian pharaohs owned forklifts--all that manpower they used hauling huge rocks could have been reduced to a half-dozen forklifts and a couple of cranes. Forklifts give one person the ability to lift and move loads in . . . more » Best Practices: When One Man's Home Is Another Man's Workplace, Part 4; Construction, Repair, and Maintenance Workers A crew for The House Doctor, a home improvement contractor, was working in a Long Beach home when an electric lamp fell onto an employee. Part of the worker's body was touching a water puddle, and the worker was electrocuted. CPR . . . more » Injury Prevention: Kicking Out Knee Injuries; Risk Factors and Prevention Strategies More than 95,000 American workers lost work time in 2006 because of work-related knee injuries, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports. These employees lost an average of 14 workdays, although those who need . . . more » Health and Wellness: Take This With Less Than a Grain of Salt; The Skinny on Sodium Do you worry about dioxin in your drinking water? Pesticides in your produce? Carcinogens in your canned goods? How about salt in your soda--and, for that matter, in almost everything you eat? . . . more » Residential Worksites and Nonsafety Regulations There are many issues associated with working in and around other people's homes besides Cal/OSHA compliance, particularly how to comply with other employment laws, notes San Francisco attorney Jeffrey Tanenbaum. "How do you . . . more » Youth Workers: Jobs to Die For; Keeping Young Workers Out of Peril Summer's coming, and with it an influx of young laborers whose numbers are sorely needed in restaurants, retail establishments, agriculture, and other sectors of the economy at this time of year. Sadly, some of these workers . . . more » Appeals Board Decisions: Does a Serious Injury Automatically Mean the Employer's Training Program Is Inadequate? Journeyman carpenter Abdullah Baker worked for RGW Construction of Livermore for about three months. On April 7, 2006, Baker was inside an aerial basket, making an angle cut to a 4-by-6-inch piece of lumber with a handheld circular Skilsaw . . . more » News Notes: California Safe Cosmetics Program Releases Chemical List The California Safe Cosmetics Act of 2005 requires cosmetics companies to report to the state Department of Public Health products that contain chemicals known or suspected to cause cancer, birth defects, or reproductive harm. . . . more » News Notes: Price Tag for the Most Disabling Workplace Injuries: $48.3 Billion The inflation-adjusted workers' compensation cost of the most disabling injuries (those causing six or more lost workdays) increased nearly 4 percent, to $48.3 billion, between 1998 and 2005, even though the incidence of these . . . more » News Notes: NIOSH Drafts PPE Guidelines for Health Workers on Pandemic Flu The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) is requesting public input on its draft of "Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for Healthcare Workers (HCW) Action Plan," NIOSH Docket Number NIOSH . . . more » News Notes: More Truckers Buckling Up The number of professional truckers who buckle their seat belts jumped to a record level of 65 percent in 2007, according to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). Only 48 percent of commercial truck drivers . . . more » News Notes: Obesity Decreases Productivity, Says Study Moderately to extremely obese employees have reduced job productivity, even when their performance is compared to that of overweight or mildly obese workers, according to a study recently published in . . . more » Online Exclusive: Indoor Air Quality: Mold Prevention Checklist Given that mold spores are everywhere and that they need very little to grow, how can you prevent mold from taking root in your workplace? . . . more » Bulletin: Special Report included with this issue: "Lighten the Load: Identify and Control Ergonomic Hazards in Your Workplace to Prevent Costly Injuries, Increase Productivity, and Keep Workers on the Job" Ergonomic injuries, such as sprains, back pain, and carpal tunnel syndrome, cause workers to miss a significant number of workdays and . . . more » Bulletin: Coming in June! An ERI Intensive Class on terminations Make the wrong move when firing a worker and your company could be facing a costly lawsuit. Don't take chances, protect yourself and your company by . . . more » Bulletin: COCA Online Exclusive: Mold prevention checklist Heavy mold contamination affects indoor air quality and can cause serious respiratory problems for some workers. . . . more » Bulletin: Federal OSHA introduces new combustible dust safety page The hazards of combustible dust are extremely dangerous, yet workers may not even know that the hazards exist until it's too late. Various . . . more » Accident Investigation: Identify the Root Cause, Take the Right Corrective Action A worker was sweeping the floor in an aisle alongside bales of reclaimed paper that were stacked six high at a California waste management facility. Each bale . . . more » Health and Wellness: The Pregnant Employee and the Workplace; Safety Concerns for Women When pregnant worker Naomi Snyder showed up for her job at arts and crafts retailer Michael's in Modesto one day, a contractor was buffing . . . more » Indoor Air Quality: Moisture, Mold, and Mycotoxins: All Wet or Real Threat? If you had a nickel for every species of mold in the world, you'd have a tidy little stash for your next rainy day--there are more than 100,000 species. . . . more » Trainer's Handbook: Bloodborne Pathogens; Refresher Training for Workers Outside Healthcare Nurses, dental assistants, and emergency medical technicians may be reminded of the need to protect themselves against bloodborne pathogens every day, but other . . . more » Best Practices: When One Man's Home Is Another Man's Workplace, Part 3; Service Providers and Laborers Coast and Valley Carpet Care sent cousins Jose and Victor Cortez to a condo in the Ventura County city of Moorpark two years ago to clean the . . . more » Appeals Board Decisions: Foot Pedals Cause Finger Amputations; Employers Didn't Guard Points of Operation At 11:30 p.m., Balderamo Haro was alone in the workshop at Brydenscot Metal Products in San Bernadino, putting in some overtime. He was bending pieces of 20-gauge steel . . . more » Appeals Board Decision to Watch: J.F. Shea Construction, Inc. The Cal/OSH Appeals Board created quite a sensation recently with its decision after reconsideration in the case of J.F. Shea Construction, . . . more » News Notes: Injured Workers Troubled by Nonstandard Shifts Of the more than 4 million workers who are injured on the job each year, those who work nonstandard shifts or schedules are the least likely to . . . more » News Notes: Online Tool Available to Self-Test Hearing Protection A new tool created by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) for the mining industry allows workers in any field to self-test their hearing . . . more » More