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 21, 2014
	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 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
appropriate 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  , for
serious violations,  a proposed modification to civil penalties
for abatement or credit for abatement unless the employer has 
abated the violation, as specified, or has  submitted a
statement to the division in accordance with existing law, and would
additionally require supporting evidence with the statement 
where necessary  . The bill would  prohibit 
 authorize  the division  from granting 
 to grant  such a modification  unless 
 only if the violation has been abated, as specified, or 
the signed statement and supporting evidence is received within 10
 working  days after the end of the period fixed for
abatement. The bill would generally prohibit the stay or suspension
of  an abatement period   a requirement to abate
the hazards affirmed by the decision or order  during the
pendency before the appeals board of 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 appeals
board to stay or suspend an abatement, upon petition by the employer,
 only  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.  Section 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   For serious violations, the 
division shall not grant a proposed modification to civil penalties
for abatement or credit for abatement unless the employer has
 submitted   done any of the following: 

   (1) Abated the violation at the time of the initial inspection.
 
   (2) Abated the violation at the time of a subsequent inspection
prior to the issuance of a citation. 
      (3)     Submitted  a signed
statement under penalty of perjury and supporting evidence  ,
when necessary to prove abatement,  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  
statement,  with supporting evidence,  where necessary to
prove aba   tement,  under penalty of perjury, that he
or she has complied with the abatement terms within the period fixed
for abatement of the violation. The division may grant a modification
pursuant to subdivision (g) of Section 6319 only if  the
employer has abated the violation at the time of the initial or
subsequent inspection or  the statement, signed under penalty of
perjury, and supporting evidence are received within 10  working
 days after the end of the period fixed for abatement.  At
no time shall the period for abatement be fixed prior to the issuance
of a citation. The submission of a signed abatement statement shall
not be considered as evidence of   a violation during an
appeal.  The division shall include on the initial notice of
civil penalty a clear warning of reinspection 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.  (a)  (1)    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 
    (2)     Except as provided in subdivision
(b), 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   shall not  stay or suspend the  order
or decision only if   requirement to abate the hazards
affirmed by the decision or order unless  the employer
demonstrates by a preponderance of the evidence that a stay or
suspension  of abatement  will not adversely affect the
health and safety of employees. The employer must request a stay or
suspension  of abatement  by filing a written, verified
petition with supporting declarations within 10 days after the
 filing   issuance  of the order or
decision.