WORKSAFE! A California Coalition for Worker Occupational Safety & Health Protection

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Specific OSH Hazards by Type of Worker

Table of Contents

Agricultural Workers
Auto Repair Workers
Beauty Care Workers
Car Wash Workers
Construction Workers
Energy Workers
Firefighters
Food Processing Workers
Garment Workers
Hazardous Waste Workers
Health care/Hospital Workers
Hotel/Restaurant Workers
Household Domestic Workers
Immigrant Workers
Injured & Disabled Workers
                                                           

Janitors & Maintenance Workers
Longshore & Warehouse Workers
Miners
Multi-Employer Sites
Office Workers
Older Workers
Refinery Workers
Semiconductor Manufacturing
Taxi Cab Drivers
Teachers & School Employees
Union Workers
Whistleblowers (Workers facing OSH Discrimination)
Women Workers
Young/Teens/Youth Workers
*Special Workers - New Orleans
*Special Workers - September 11th WTC

AGRICULTURAL WORKERS

  • Resources and links
    • Cal/OSHA ASHIP Report 1999 
    • CA DIR Department of Industrial Relations -  Young Agricultural Worker Safety 
    • Californians for Pesticide Reform - click here
    • CRLA California Rural Legal Assistance - click here 
    • CRLA Fdn California Rural Legal Assistance Fdn - click here 
      • The Pesticides & Worker
        Safety Project         - click here 
      • The Worker Health and Safety-related State and Federal Legislative Advocacy - click here
      • The Labor & Employment Law Project - click here
        • White papers - click here 
          • A 2004 Survey of 1,028 Californal Agricultural Workers Found Widespread Wage and Hour Violations (Sacto, 2005) - click here 
          • Enforcement of Minimum Wage and Overtime Payment Laws in California, 1998-2003 (Sacto, 2005) - click here 
        • Materials Related to
          California Sheep Herders - click here
      • The Labor and Civil Rights
        Litigation         Project - click here 
    • Farm Safety Association
    • National Agrictultural Safety Database
    • NIOSH - National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health
      • Click here for information on agricultural safety and health.
      • Click here for information regarding children and agricultural safety.
      • Click here for information regarding pesticide illness and injury surveillance
      • Centers for Agricultural Disease and Injury Research, Education and Prevention - These centers conduct programs in research, education and prevention that are responsive to agricutural health and safety issues. In the last 15 years, these centers have been a valuable resource to the farming population and their research has been instrumental in advancing safety and health. Click here for more information.
      • Click here for AgConnections, a quarterly newsletter that highlights activities from each of the nine Centers.
      • Click here for the National Agricultural Safety Database (NASD), a national central repository of resource materials
      • NIOSH also funds and supports the National Children's Center for Rural and Agricultural Safety and Health. This Center has become a leading resource for professionals and agricultural producers to obtain guidance regarding childhood agricultural injury prevention. Click here for the more information on the Center. Click here for the Centers' newsletter, Nurture.
    • WORKSAFE! click here for information on Heat Stress
    • WORKSAFE! click here for information on Pesticides
  • Laws, Regulations & Enforcement
    • 8 CCR 3203 - Injury & Illness Prevention Program for employers with Intermittent Workers in Agriculture (English) - html
    • 8 CCR 3203 - Injury & Illness Prevention Program for employers with Intermittent Workers in Agriculture (Spanish) - html
    • 8 CCR  3456 - Hand weeding, hand thinning, and hand-capping operations in agriculture - OSH Standards Board reports
      • Cal/OSHA?s Ban on Hand Weeding in Ag - click here - Revisions to GISO §3456 that prohibits hand weeding, thinning and hot-capping in agriculture, with some exceptions. Regulation effective April 29, 2005.
      • Hand Weeding, Thinning and Hot Capping in Agriculture - click here - Permanent revisions to General Industry Safety Orders 3456 effective April 29, 2005.
    • 8 CCR 3456 - Initial Statement of Reasons
    • 8 CCR 3457 - Cal/OSHA Field Sanitation Standard - Cal/OSHA requirements (GISO §3457) for agricultural operations on drinking water, toilets and handwashing facilities.
    • Tree Climbing and Access - click here - Revisions to General Industry Safety Orders 3427 were effective Jan. 24, 2005. Allows work crews to use cranes to gain access to trees when other methods are not safe.
    • Cal/OSHA 2001 Performance Plan
    • Ethylene Gas Explosion in the Produce Ripening Industry - Hazard Alert
  • Training Material 
    • Cal/OSHA Publications on Agriculture
      • ASHIP - Agricultural Safety & Health Inspection Project (English)
      • ASHIP - (Spanish)
      • Ag-Industrial Tractors (English)
      • Ag-Industrial Tractors (Spanish)
      • Biosecurity Procedures for Dairy Inspections
      • Derechos de los Trabajadores Agrícolas (Spanish only)
      • Cal/OSHA Farm Labor Contractors Guide Part 1 - click here - Five high-risk areas for farmworkers, how to create an effective IIPP, worker and supervisor training.
      • Cal/OSHA Farm Labor Contractors Guide Part 2 - click here - Fact sheets for farm labor contractors on tractor safety, irrigation inspection, orchard hazards, water and sanitation, rollover protective structures, heat stress, machinery safety.
      • Farm Labor Contractors Guide in Spanish Part 1 - click here - Five high-risk areas for farmworkers, how to create an effective IIPP, worker and supervisor training.
      • Farm Labor Contractors Guide in Spanish Part 2 - click here  - Spanish-language version of Cal/OSHA Consultations?s Farm Labor Contractors Guide.
      • Are You a Teen Working in Agriculture? Protect Your Health Know Your Rights  (English) - html
      • Are You a Teen Working in Agriculture?  Protection Your Health Know Your Rights (Spanish)
      • Toolbox/Tailgate topic:  High Voltage Overhead Lines.  Many workers in both construction and agriculture face a common safety hazard:  electrical contact with high voltage overhead lines.
      • Cal/OSHA Requirements for Tractor Operators - click here - One-page guide to GISO §3664, published in March 2006
      • Cal/OSHA Requirements for Tractor Operators in Spanish - click here - One-page guide to GISO §3664, published in March 2006
    • Addressing Special Populations:  Immigrant Workers in California - slideshow by Suzanne Teran, LOHP
  • Media Resources

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AUTO REPAIR WORKERS

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BEAUTY CARE WORKERS

  • Resources and links
  • Laws, Regulations & Enforcement
    • Nail Salon Legislative Hearing - November 15, 2007 - San Francisco City Hall - Based on growing concerns that the health of nail salon workers is adversely affected by nail products that contain many toxic and carcinogenic chemicals, this hearing will highlight the health and safety issues faced by the nail salon community. The hearing will also provide an opportunity for key state departments to discuss ways to improve nail salon safety in California. The goal of the hearing is to help protect nail salon employees in the workplace and also to protect consumers using these nail care products.
  • Training Material
  • Media

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CAR WASH WORKERS

  • Resources and links
    • Click here for some information about the hazards to which car wash workers are exposed.  Click here for a chart of common violations.
  • Laws, Regulations & Enforcement
    • AB 1468 - Car Wash Registration Requirement Extension through January 2010  - pdf
      • Car washing and polishing registration requirements extended to January, 2010 (PDF) (DOC)
    • Click here for a notice from the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement regarding AB 1468.
  • Training Material
  • Media

CONSTRUCTION WORKERS 

REGISTER NOW for the State Building and Construction Trades Council's 2-day Train-the-Trainer Sessions on preventing the top four construction hazards (English trainings on April 9-10 and April 23-24. Spanish trainings on May 7-8 and May 21-22). Click here for more information.

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ENERGY WORKERS

  • Resources and links
  • Laws, Regulations & Enforcement
  • Training Material

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    FIREFIGHTERS
  • Resources and links
    • Laws, Regulations & Enforcement
    • Training Material

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    FOOD PROCESSING WORKERS 

    • Resources and links
    • Laws, Regulations & Enforcement
    • Training Material

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    Garment Workers

  • Resources and links
  • Laws, Regulations & Enforcement
  • Training Material
  • Media
    •


    HAZARDOUS WASTE WORKERS     - see also Toxics in OSH Hazards by Hazard

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    HEALTH CARE / HOSPITAL WORKERS

    • Resources and links
      • Federal OSHA Safety and Health topics - Latex Allergy 
      • CDC NIOSH information on health care worker safety and health  
        • Click here for information on Hazardous Drug Exposures in Health Care 
      • NIOSH Health Care Worker Resources Featured in Global Health Network Newsletter
        NIOSH announced health care resources to readers of the World Health Organization?s (WHO) The Global Health Network Newsletter. The article highlighted information available on hazards and exposures faced by health care workers around the world, including tuberculosis, exposure to ethylene oxide, latex allergy, workplace violence, musculoskeletal disorders, female reproductive health and psychosocial hazards, such as organizational change and workplace stress. Resources such as the Worker Health Chartbook and the NIOSH Bibliographic Database for Health Care Workers were highlighted. Click here for the newsletter. Additional information may be obtained by contacting John Palassis at JPalassis@cdc.gov . Latex Allergy Links
    • Laws, Regulations & Enforcement
    • Training Material
    • Research
      • NIOSH Health Care Worker Resources Featured in Global Health Network Newsletter
        NIOSH announced health care resources to readers of the World Health Organization?s (WHO) The Global Health Network Newsletter. The article highlighted information available on hazards and exposures faced by health care workers around the world, including tuberculosis, exposure to ethylene oxide, latex allergy, workplace violence, musculoskeletal disorders, female reproductive health and psychosocial hazards, such as organizational change and workplace stress. Resources such as the Worker Health Chartbook and the NIOSH Bibliographic Database for Health Care Workers were highlighted. The newsletter can be found at http://www.who.int/occupational_health/publications/newsletter/gohnet8eng.pdf. Additional information may be obtained by contacting John Palassis at JPalassis@cdc.gov. More information on health care worker safety and health can be found at http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/healthcare.
    • Media

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    HOTEL & RESTAURANT WORKERS

    • Resources and links
    • Laws, Regulations & Enforcement
    • Training Material

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    HOUSEHOLD DOMESTIC WORKERS 

    • Resources and links
      • Rights Begin at Home: Defending Domestic Workers? Rights in California.  Published October 6, this online advocates guide by Mujeres Unidas y Activas and the Women?s Collective of La Raza Centro Legal will ensure that more advocates and domestic workers around the state know and defend their rights. The guide is a collaboration with the National Employment Law Project and features data collected through a participatory research project about the domestic work industry in the Bay Area with the help of the Data Center. Click here for the guide.
    • Laws, Regulations & Enforcement
    • Training Material

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    IMMIGRANT WORKERS

    Esta sección está bajo desarrollo. Esta sección estará escrita en español y lo conectará con otros lugares que contengan material escrito en español. Por favor, vuelva a visitar este sitio dentro de poco tiempo.  

    Aunque aún no hemos traducido el material introductorio, si Ud. habla Inglés, Ud. puede ir al sitio web de la Comisión de Salud y Seguridad y Compensación Laboral .   Esta es la página donde ellos describen (en Inglés) un guia multilingüe de salud y seguridad. Usted puede simplemente presiona aquí y será trasladado a otra página multilingüe de Salud y Seguridad la cual incluye Materiales de Entrenamiento Laboral. Esta página fué preparada por el Programa de Salud Ocupacional Laboral el cual es parte del Centro de Salud Ocupacional y Ambiental de la Universidad de California en Berkeley. Hay un guia para usuarios el cual le da al lector (en Inglés) cuatro declaraciones cortas sobre: Antecedentes y Propósito, Origen del Material, Como encontrar Información, y Enlaces o Conexiones Rotas. Finalmente, si Ud. va más abajo en la página, Ud. verá una lista de materiales que estan a su disposición en varios idiomas, incluyendo Español. Aunque los títulos de los materiales estan en Inglés, cuando Ud. presione sobre el título, el material será en Español.

    POR FAVOR VISITE nuestro sitio web de vez en cuando. Nosotros publicaremos las traducciones en Español en cuanto estén a nuestra disposición.

    Presione aquí  para ir a la guia Compensación del Trabajador de California, 2005.

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    INJURED & DISABLED WORKERS
    • NOTE:  There are several places on this website where INJURED WORKERS might look for resources.  We tried to consolidate the information on one page.  Click here to jump to that page.

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    JANITORS & MAINTENANCE WORKERS

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    LONGSHORE & WAREHOUSE WORKERS

    • Resources and links
    • Laws, Regulations & Enforcement 
    • Training Material
    • Media

    MANUFACTURING  WORKERS 

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    MINERS
  • Resources and links
      • GOVERNMENT RESOURCES and Links
        • NIOSH - National Institute on Occupational Safety and Health
    • Laws, Regulations & Enforcement
    • Training Material
    • Media

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    MULTI-EMPLOYER SITES 

      • Resources and links
        •
        • Click here for a brief explanation of what the OSH Appeals Board has done (a bad ruling in Harris Construction which ignored a District Court of Appeal ruling in Overaa Construction) which is leading Cal/OSHA to propose changes to the multi-employer regulations so that CONTROLLING EMPLOYERS will have an affirmative defense.  Whatever Cal/OSHA does to change its regulations, however, will not guarantee that the OSH Appeals Board will back off its wrong interpretation of the law and ruling in Harris Construction which illegally shifts the burden of proof to Cal/OSHA to show that the employer knew or should have known of the unsafe condition.  Click here to see Labor Code Section 6432(b) which clearly states that this burden is on the contractor not on Cal/OSHA.
      • Laws, Regulations & Enforcement & PENDING LITIGATION
        • Click here to jump to the Worksafe webpage with information about the Cal/OSHA Regulatory Advisory Committee meeting that is considering changes to the existing multi-employer regulation.
        • Click here for the law regarding multi-employer worksites at Labor Code Section 6400 (b) and (c).
        • Click here for the regulation regarding multi-employer worksites at 8 CCR 336.10.
        • Click here for the regulation regarding multi-employer worksites at 8 CCR 336.11.
        • Click here for the Cal/OSHA Policy & Procedure P&P C-1C Multi-Employer Worksite Inspections
        • Click here for the decision in Overaa Construction v California Occupational Safety & Health Appeals Board.  This case was ignored by the OSHAB in its decision after reconsideration in Harris Construction.
        • Click here for the ALJ decision in Harris Construction.
        • Click here for the OSHAB decision after reconsideration (DAR) in Harris Construction.
        • Click here for the Writ Worksafe filed challenging the OSHAB DAR in Harris Construction Company Inc. on 4/27/07
        • Click here for the Worksafe brief on the main issue of the case where we argue that Cal/OSHA should not have the burden of proving  that the employer knew or should have known of the unsafe condition.  Filed on 1/29/08.
        • Click here for the Cal/OSHA brief arguing essentially the same.  Filed on 1/29/08.
        • Click here for the amended Writ Worksafe filed on 2/6/08 
        • Click here for the amicus filed by CRLA Foundation, CRLA, National Employment Law Project, IDEPSCA, and Centro Legal de la Raza on 2/27/08
        • Click here for the Worksafe brief asking the Judge to give us a final decision on whether the union (in this case the union brought the writ along with a worker center and a legal services program, but the judge dismissed the latter two) has to exhaust the administrative remedies (participated in the OSH administrative case).   Filed on 3/4/08.
      • Training Material
      • Media
        • Multi-employer Regulation Finally Approved discusses history and content of this regulation that applies to construction worksites as well as other multi-employer worksites - taken from WORKSAFE! Newsletter - January 1998

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    OFFICE WORKERS

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    OLDER WORKERS

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    REFINERY WORKERS

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    SEMICONDUCTOR MANUFACTURING 

    • Resources and links
      • GOVERNMENT RESOURCES and LINKS
    • Laws, Regulations & Enforcement
    • Training Material

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    TAXI CAB DRIVERS 

    • Resources and links
    • Laws, Regulations & Enforcement
    • Training Material

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    TEACHERS & SCHOOL EMPLOYEES 

    • Resources and links
      • WORKSAFE! click here for information on Pesticides
    • Laws, Regulations & Enforcement
    • Training Material
      • Workplace Health & Safety - The Toxic Classroom (34k PDF) - focuses on how to evaluate an indoor air quality (IAQ) problem and includes a list of state and federal government agencies that address these problems. The material was prepared for a training program for the California Teachers' Association in April, 1999, but much of it is useful for 1) home owners concerned about IAQ in their homes, and 2) workers concerned about IAQ in their workplaces.

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    UNION WORKERS

    • Resources and links
      • LOHP - Union Health & Safety Skills
    • Laws, Regulations & Enforcement
    • Training Material

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    WHISTLEBLOWERS (Workers facing OSH Discrimination)
    • Resources and links
    • Laws, Regulations & Enforcement
    • Training Material
      • Click here for What are your RIGHTS if you suffer
        DISCRIMINATION or DISCHARGE for Safety & Health Activity?          This training program was prepared for the California Labor Federation AFL-CIO
        Organizing for Safety Conference for Union Activists on September 23, 2000
      • Click here for the training program prepared by the Worksafe Law Center for Legal Services Programs in California which focuses on discrimination that arises in the context of a workers' compensation case or as a result of a workplace injury.  This material is also posted under the Injured Workers section of this website and the link above will jump you to that location. 
      • Click here for a Cal/OSHA fact sheet entitled If Your Employer Refuses to Correct an Unsafe or Unhealthy Condition
      • Blowing the whistle at work - this material was prepared by SEM COSH - Southeast Michigan Coalition on Occupational Safety and Health
    • Media

     

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    WOMEN WORKERS

    • Resources and links
      • Focus on Women's Health & Safety - see the NIOSH newsletter (Jan 2005) for a brief report about a meeting (Dec 2004) to begin to develop an Organization of Work and Women?s Health Research agenda.  For more information, please contact Naomi Swanson at nsw3@cdc.gov or Jeannie Nigam at zgy1@cdc.gov. 
      • NIOSH - National Institute on Occupational Safety and Health
        • Women's Safety and Health Issues at Work - click here for more information
    • Laws, Regulations & Enforcement
    • Training Material

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    YOUNG / TEEN / YOUTH WORKERS

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    *Special Workers - New Orleans

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    *Special Workers - September 11th World Trade Center 

    • Resources and links
      • 9/11 workers must REGISTER for Workers' Compensation by August 14, 2007
      • Register now to protect your right to workers comp for 9/11-related work.  Click here for the REGISTRATION FORM.  Registration must be completed by August 14, 2007.  Go to www.nycosh.org for more information.
    • Laws, Regulations & Enforcement
      • Click here to jump to additional information related to Emergency Response & First Aid. 
    • Training Material
    • Media Resources

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    		OSH Topics

    		 Overview

    		 A Guide to Workers' Health & Safety Rights & Filing a Cal/OSHA Complaint

    		 Investigating an OSH problem

    		 Specific OSH Hazards by Hazard

    		 Specific OSH Hazards by Type of Worker

    		 Specific OSH Hazards and Information for INJURED WORKERS

    		 Model OSH Language for Collective Bargaining Agreements

    		 Safety and Health Committees

    		 Remedies for Injured Workers - Workers' Comp

    		 Remedies for Injured Workers - 3d party Lawsuits

    		 Remedies - Criminal Prosecution



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