Bill Text: CA AB1634 | 2013-2014 | Regular Session | Amended

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Occupational safety and health: violations.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 8-0)

Status: (Passed) 2014-09-20 - Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 497, Statutes of 2014. [AB1634 Detail]

Download: California-2013-AB1634-Amended.html

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BILL NUMBER: AB 1634	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN SENATE  AUGUST 18, 2014

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Skinner
   (Principal coauthor: Senator Hancock)
   (Coauthors: Assembly Members Ammiano, Bonta, Gonzalez, Quirk,
Ting, and Wieckowski)

                        FEBRUARY 10, 2014

   An act to amend  Section 6600   Sections
6319, 6320, and 6625  of the Labor Code, relating to employment.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 1634, as amended, Skinner. Occupational safety and health:
violations.
   Existing law establishes the Division of Occupational Safety and
Health in the Department of Industrial Relations to enforce
employment safety laws. Existing law authorizes the division to
conduct hearings, inspections, and investigations regarding alleged
violations of employment safety laws and to issue a citation for a
violation of those laws, including violations that regulations
adopted by the division classify as serious, repeat, or willful
violations.  Existing law authorizes the division to propose
appro   priate modifications concerning the characterization
of violations and corresponding modifications to civil penalties for
violations. Existing law requires the division, if a serious
violation is not abated at the time of the initial or subsequent
inspection, to require the employer to submit a   signed
statement under penalty of perjury that he or she has complied with
the abatement terms within the period fixed for abatement of the
violation.  Existing law establishes the Occupational Safety and
Health Appeals Board in the department, and prescribes procedures
for the appeals board to hear and decide appeals of a citation.
Regulations adopted by the appeals board generally stay the abatement
period of a citation until the conclusion of the appeal.
   This bill would prohibit the  division from granting a
proposed modification to civil penalties for abatement or credit for
abatement unless the employer has submitted a statement to the
division in accordance with existing law, and would additionally
require supporting evidence with the statement. The bill would
prohibit the division from granting such a modification unless the
signed statement and   supporting evidence is received
within 10 days after the end of the period fixed for abatement. The
bill would generally prohibit the  stay  or suspension 
of an abatement period during the pendency  before the appeals
board  of  an appeal   a petition for
reconsideration  of a citation for a violation that is
classified as a serious violation, repeat serious violation, or
willful serious violation. The bill would, however, authorize the
 division   appeals board  to stay 
these abatement periods, upon request,   or suspend an
abatement, upon petition by the employer,  if the 
division determines that a stay   if the employer
demonstrates that a stay or suspension  will not adversely
affect the health and safety of employees.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

   SECTION 1.    Se   ction 6319 of the 
 Labor Code   is amended to read: 
   6319.  (a) If, after an inspection or investigation, the division
issues a citation pursuant to Section 6317 or an order pursuant to
Section 6308, it shall, within a reasonable time after the
termination of the inspection or investigation, notify the employer
by certified mail of the citation or order, and that the employer has
15 working days from receipt of the notice within which to notify
the appeals board that he or she wishes to contest the citation or
order for any reason set forth in Section 6600 or 6600.5.
   (b) Any employer served by certified mail with a notice of civil
penalty may appeal to the appeals board within 15 working days from
receipt of that notice for any reason set forth in Section 6600. If
the citation is issued for a violation involving the condition or
operation of any machine, device, apparatus, or equipment, and a
person other than the employer is obligated to the employer to repair
the machine, device, apparatus, or equipment and to pay any
penalties assessed against the employer, the other person may appeal
to the appeals board within 15 working days of the receipt of the
citation by the employer for any reasons set forth in Section 6600.
   (c) The director shall promulgate regulations covering the
assessment of civil penalties under this chapter which give due
consideration to the appropriateness of the penalty with respect to
the following factors:
   (1) The size of the business of the employer being charged.
   (2) The gravity of the violation.
   (3) The good faith of the employer, including timely abatement.
   (4) The history of previous violations.
   (d) Notwithstanding subdivision (c), if serious injury, illness,
exposure, or death is caused by any serious, willful, or repeated
violation, or by any failure to correct a serious violation within
the time permitted for its correction, the penalty shall not be
reduced for any reason other than the size of the business of the
employer being charged. Whenever the division issues a citation for a
violation covered by this subdivision, it shall notify the employer
of its determination that serious injury, illness, exposure or death
was caused by the violation and shall, upon request, provide the
employer with a copy of the inspection report.
   (e) The employer shall not be liable for a civil penalty under
this part for any citation issued by a division representative
providing consulting services pursuant to Sections 6354 and 6355.
   (f) Whenever a citation of a self-insured employer for a willful,
or repeat serious violation of the standard adopted pursuant to
Section 6401.7 becomes final, the division shall notify the director
so that a hearing may be held to determine whether good cause exists
to revoke the employer's certificate of consent to self-insure as
provided in Section 3702.
   (g) Based upon the evidence, the division may propose appropriate
modifications concerning the characterization of violations and
corresponding modifications to civil penalties as a result thereof.
 The division shall not grant a proposed modification to civil
penalties for abatement or credit for abatement unless the employer
has   submitted a signed statement under penalty of perjury
and supporting evidence in accordance with subdivision (b) of Section
6320. 
  SEC. 2.    Section 6320 of the   Labor Code
  is amended to read: 
   6320.  (a) If, after inspection or investigation, the division
issues a special order, order to take special action, or a citation
for a serious violation, and if at the time of inspection the order
is not complied with or the violation is not abated, the division
shall conduct a reinspection in the following cases:
   (1) All inspections or investigations involving a serious
violation of a standard adopted pursuant to Section 6401.7, a special
order or order to take special action, serious violations of those
orders, and serious violations characterized as repeat or willful or
with abatement periods of less than six days. These reinspections
shall be conducted at the end of the period fixed for compliance with
the order or abatement of the violation or within 30 days
thereafter.
   (2) At least 20 percent of the inspections or investigations
involving a serious violation not otherwise scheduled for
reinspection. These inspections shall be randomly selected and shall
be conducted at the end of the period fixed for abatement of the
violation or within a reasonable time thereafter.
   (b) Whenever a serious violation is not abated at the time of the
initial or subsequent inspection, the division shall require the
employer to submit a signed statement  with supporting evidence,
 under penalty of  perjury   perjury, 
that he or she has complied with the abatement terms within the
period fixed for abatement of the violation.  If the
statement is not received by the division within 10 working days
after the end of the period fixed for abatement, the division shall
revoke any adjustments to the civil penalty based on abatement of the
violation.   The division may grant a modification
pursuant to subdivision (g) of Section 6319 only if the statement,
signed under penalty of perjury, and supporting evidence are received
within 10 days after the end of the period fixed for abatement.
 The division shall include on the initial notice of civil
penalty a clear warning of reinspection  and automatic
revocation of any civil penalty adjustments based on abatement
 for failure to submit the required statement in the time
allotted, and of an additional, potentially substantial monetary
penalty for failure to abate the violation. If the division fails to
receive evidence of abatement or the statement within 10 working days
after the end of the abatement period, the division shall notify the
employer that the additional civil penalty for failure to abate, as
provided in Section 6430, will be assessed retroactive to the end of
the abatement period unless the employer can provide sufficient
evidence that the violation was abated prior to that date. The
division shall conduct a reinspection of serious violations within 45
days following the end of the abatement period whenever it still has
no evidence of abatement.
   SEC. 3.    Section 6625 of the   Labor Code
  is amended to read: 
   6625.   The   (a)    
Except as provided in subdivision (b), the  filing of a petition
for reconsideration shall suspend for a period of 10 days the order
or decision affected, insofar as it applies to the parties to the
petition, unless otherwise ordered by the appeals board. The appeals
board upon the terms and conditions which it by order directs, may
stay, suspend, or postpone the order or decision during the pendency
of the reconsideration. 
   (b) The filing of a petition for, or the pendency of,
reconsideration of a final order or decision involving a citation
classified as serious, repeat serious, or willful serious may stay or
suspend the order or decision only if the employer demonstrates by a
preponderance of the evidence that a stay or suspension will not
adversely affect the health and safety of employees. The employer
must request a stay or suspension by filing a written, verified
petition with supporting declarations within 10 days after the filing
of the order or decision.  
  SECTION 1.    Section 6600 of the Labor Code is
amended to read:
   6600.  (a) An employer served with a citation pursuant to Section
6317, or a notice of proposed penalty under this part, or any other
person obligated to the employer as specified in subdivision (b) of
Section 6319, may appeal to the appeals board within 15 working days
from the receipt of the citation or notice with respect to violations
alleged by the division, abatement periods, amount of proposed
penalties, and the reasonableness of the changes required by the
division to abate the condition.
   (b) (1) An appeal of a citation that is classified as a serious
violation, a repeat serious violation, or a willful serious violation
shall not stay the abatement periods and requirements of the
division, except as provided in paragraph (2).
   (2) If a stay of abatement is requested from the division with
respect to an appeal described in paragraph (1), the division may
stay the abatement if the division determines that a stay will not
adversely affect the health and safety of employees.