Nearly a third of Cal/OSHA positions were vacant last year. A new state audit found that caused the agency to skip in-person inspections, even when workers were injured.
While California has rules to protect farmworkers from excessive heat, inspections and citations are significantly down. A bill before the Legislature would make it easier to file workers’ compensation claims for heat illnesses.
California prison workers were wrongly excluded from indoor heat regulations passed earlier this year, despite facing brutal conditions that will only get worse in the coming decades.
After five years, a state occupational health board approves rules to protect workers from extreme heat indoors. They could take effect in August, but state prisons will not be covered.
U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla and the United Farm Workers union say a recent death in a tomatillo field was due to heat, but a coroner's report doesn't back that up.
The iconic California burger joint known for its crossed palm trees and cups printed with Bible verses banned its employees in five states from wearing masks at work.