Current through Register 2024 Notice Reg. No. 38, September 20, 2024
(a) Effective July 1, 1991, every employer
shall establish, implement and maintain an effective Injury and Illness
Prevention Program (Program). The Program shall be in writing and, shall, at a
minimum:
(1) Identify the person or persons
with authority and responsibility for implementing the Program.
(2) Include a system for ensuring that
employees comply with safe and healthy work practices. Substantial compliance
with this provision includes recognition of employees who follow safe and
healthful work practices, training and retraining programs, disciplinary
actions, or any other such means that ensures employee compliance with safe and
healthful work practices.
(3)
Include a system for communicating with employees in a form readily
understandable by all affected employees on matters relating to occupational
safety and health, including provisions designed to encourage employees to
inform the employer of hazards at the worksite without fear of reprisal.
Substantial compliance with this provision includes meetings, training
programs, posting, written communications, a system of anonymous notification
by employees about hazards, labor/management safety and health committees, or
any other means that ensures communication with employees.
EXCEPTION: Employers having fewer than 10 employees shall
be permitted to communicate to and instruct employees orally in general safe
work practices with specific instructions with respect to hazards unique to the
employees' job assignments as compliance with subsection
(a)(3).
(4) Include
procedures for identifying and evaluating work place hazards including
scheduled periodic inspections to identify unsafe conditions and work
practices. Inspections shall be made to identify and evaluate hazards:
(A) When the Program is first established;
EXCEPTION: Those employers having in place on July 1,
1991, a written Injury and Illness Prevention Program complying with previously
existing section
3203.
(B) Whenever new substances, processes,
procedures, or equipment are introduced to the workplace that represent a new
occupational safety and health hazard; and
(C) Whenever the employer is made aware of a
new or previously unrecognized hazard.
(5) Include a procedure to investigate
occupational injury or occupational illness.
(6) Include methods and/or procedures for
correcting unsafe or unhealthy conditions, work practices and work procedures
in a timely manner based on the severity of the hazard:
(A) When observed or discovered;
and,
(B) When an imminent hazard
exists which cannot be immediately abated without endangering employee(s)
and/or property, remove all exposed personnel from the area except those
necessary to correct the existing condition. Employees necessary to correct the
hazardous condition shall be provided the necessary
safeguards.
(7) Provide
training and instruction:
(A) When the program
is first established;
EXCEPTION: Employers having in place on July 1, 1991, a
written Injury and Illness Prevention Program complying with the previously
existing Accident Prevention Program in Section
3203.
(B) To all new employees;
(C) To all employees given new job
assignments for which training has not previously been received;
(D) Whenever new substances, processes,
procedures or equipment are introduced to the workplace and represent a new
hazard;
(E) Whenever the employer
is made aware of a new or previously unrecognized hazard; and,
(F) For supervisors to familiarize themselves
with the safety and health hazards to which employees under their immediate
direction and control may be exposed.
(8) Allow employee access to the Program.
(A) As used in this subsection:
1. The term "access" means the right and
opportunity to examine and receive a copy.
2. The term "designated representative" means
any individual or organization to whom an employee gives written authorization
to exercise a right of access. A recognized or certified collective bargaining
agent shall be treated automatically as a designated representative for the
purpose of access to the Program.
3. The term "written authorization" means a
request provided to the employer containing the following information:
a. The name and signature of the employee
authorizing a designated representative to access the Program on the employee's
behalf;
b. The date of the
request;
c. The name of the
designated representative (individual or organization) authorized to receive
the Program on the employee's behalf; and
d. The date upon which the written
authorization will expire (if less than one (1)
year).
(B) The
employer shall provide access to the Program by doing one of the following:
1. Provide access in a reasonable time,
place, and manner, but in no event later than five (5) business days after the
request for access is received from an employee or designated representative.
a. Whenever an employee or designated
representative requests a copy of the Program, the employer shall provide the
requester a printed copy of the Program, unless the employee or designated
representative agrees to receive an electronic copy of the Program.
b. One printed copy of the Program shall be
provided free of charge. If the employee or designated representative requests
additional copies of the Program within one (1) year of the previous request
and the Program has not been updated with new information since the prior copy
was provided, the employer may charge reasonable, non-discriminatory
reproduction costs (per Section
3204(e)(1)(E)) for
the additional copies. or,
2. Provide unobstructed access through a
company server or website, which allows an employee to review, print, and email
the current version of the Program. Unobstructed access means that the
employee, as part of his or her regular work duties, predictably and routinely
uses the electronic means to communicate with management or
coworkers.
(C) The
Program provided to the employee or designated representative need not include
any of the records of the steps taken to implement and maintain the written
Program.
(D) If an employer has
distinctly different and separate operations with distinctly separate and
different Programs, the employer may limit access to the Program (or Programs)
applicable to the employee requesting it.
(E) The employer shall communicate the right
and procedure to access the Program to all employees.
(F) Nothing in this section is intended to
preclude employees and collective bargaining agents from collectively
bargaining to obtain access to information in addition to that available under
this section.
(b) Records of the steps taken to implement
and maintain the Program shall include:
(1)
Records of scheduled and periodic inspections required by subsection (a)(4) to
identify unsafe conditions and work practices, including person(s) conducting
the inspection, the unsafe conditions and work practices that have been
identified and action taken to correct the identified unsafe conditions and
work practices. These records shall be maintained for at least one (1) year;
and
EXCEPTION: Employers with fewer than 10 employees may
elect to maintain the inspection records only until the hazard is
corrected.
(2) Documentation
of safety and health training required by subsection (a)(7) for each employee,
including employee name or other identifier, training dates, type(s) of
training, and training providers. This documentation shall be maintained for at
least one (1) year.
EXCEPTION NO . 1: Employers with fewer than 10 employees
can substantially comply with the documentation provision by maintaining a log
of instructions provided to the employee with respect to the hazards unique to
the employees' job assignment when first hired or assigned new duties.
EXCEPTION NO . 2: Training records of employees who have
worked for less than one (1) year for the employer need not be retained beyond
the term of employment if they are provided to the employee upon termination of
employment.
EXCEPTION NO . 3: For Employers with fewer than 20
employees who are in industries that are not on a designated list of
high-hazard industries established by the Department of Industrial Relations
(Department) and who have a Workers' Compensation Experience Modification Rate
of 1.1 or less, and for any employers with fewer than 20 employees who are in
industries on a designated list of low-hazard industries established by the
Department, written documentation of the Program may be limited to the
following requirements:
A. Written
documentation of the identity of the person or persons with authority and
responsibility for implementing the program as required by subsection
(a)(1).
B. Written documentation of
scheduled periodic inspections to identify unsafe conditions and work practices
as required by subsection (a)(4).
C. Written documentation of training and
instruction as required by subsection (a)(7).
EXCEPTION NO . 4: Local governmental entities (any
county, city, city and county, or district, or any public or quasi-public
corporation or public agency therein, including any public entity, other than a
state agency, that is a member of, or created by, a joint powers agreement) are
not required to keep records concerning the steps taken to implement and
maintain the Program.
NOTE 1: Employers determined by the Division to have
historically utilized seasonal or intermittent employees shall be deemed in
compliance with respect to the requirements for a written Program if the
employer adopts the Model Program prepared by the Division and complies with
the requirements set forth therein.
NOTE 2: Employers in the construction industry who are
required to be licensed under Chapter 9 (commencing with Section
7000) of Division 3 of the Business
and Professions Code may use records relating to employee training provided to
the employer in connection with an occupational safety and health training
program approved by the Division, and shall only be required to keep records of
those steps taken to implement and maintain the program with respect to hazards
specific to the employee's job duties.
(c) Employers who elect to use a
labor/management safety and health committee to comply with the communication
requirements of subsection (a)(3) of this section shall be presumed to be in
substantial compliance with subsection (a)(3) if the committee:
(1) Meets regularly, but not less than
quarterly;
(2) Prepares and makes
available to the affected employees, written records of the safety and health
issues discussed at the committee meetings and, maintained for review by the
Division upon request. The committee meeting records shall be maintained for at
least one (1) year;
(3) Reviews
results of the periodic, scheduled worksite inspections;
(4) Reviews investigations of occupational
accidents and causes of incidents resulting in occupational injury,
occupational illness, or exposure to hazardous substances and, where
appropriate, submits suggestions to management for the prevention of future
incidents;
(5) Reviews
investigations of alleged hazardous conditions brought to the attention of any
committee member. When determined necessary by the committee, the committee may
conduct its own inspection and investigation to assist in remedial
solutions;
(6) Submits
recommendations to assist in the evaluation of employee safety suggestions;
and
(7) Upon request from the
Division, verifies abatement action taken by the employer to abate citations
issued by the Division.
1. New
section filed 4-1-77; effective thirtieth day thereafter (Register 77, No. 14).
For former history, see Register 74, No. 43.
2. Editorial correction
of subsection (a)(1) (Register 77, No. 41).
3. Amendment of
subsection (a)(2) filed 4-12-83; effective thirtieth day thereafter (Register
83, No. 16).
4. Amendment filed 1-16-91; operative 2-15-91 (Register
91, No. 8).
5. Editorial correction of subsections (a), (a)(2),
(a)(4)(A) and (a)(7) (Register 91, No. 31).
6. Change without
regulatory effect amending subsection (a)(7)(F) filed 10-2-92; operative
11-2-92 (Register 92, No. 40).
7. Amendment of subsection (b)(2),
EXCEPTION NO. 1, new EXCEPTION NO. 3 through EXCEPTION NO. 4, NOTE 2, and
amendment of subsection (c)(2) filed 9-13-94; operative 9-13-94 pursuant to
Government Code section
11346.2
(Register 94, No. 37).
8. Editorial correction of subsections
(a)(6)(A) and (a)(7)(A) (Register 95, No. 22).
9. Amendment of
subsections (b)(1)-(2) and (c)(2) filed 6-1-95; operative 7-3-95 (Register 95,
No. 22).
10. Editorial correction of subsection (a)(4) (Register
2002, No. 46).
11. New subsections (a)(8)-(a)(8)(F) filed 3-3-2020;
operative 7-1-2020 (Register 2020, No. 10).
Note: Authority cited: Sections
142.3 and
6401.7, Labor
Code. Reference: Sections
142.3 and
6401.7, Labor
Code.
