Bill Text: CA SB606 | 2021-2022 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Workplace safety: violations of statutes: enterprise-wide violations: egregious violations.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)
Status: (Passed) 2021-09-27 - Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 336, Statutes of 2021. [SB606 Detail]
Download: California-2021-SB606-Amended.html
Amended
IN
Assembly
September 02, 2021 |
Amended
IN
Assembly
August 30, 2021 |
Amended
IN
Assembly
June 14, 2021 |
Amended
IN
Senate
May 20, 2021 |
Amended
IN
Senate
April 08, 2021 |
Amended
IN
Senate
March 25, 2021 |
Introduced by Senator Gonzalez (Principal coauthor: Assembly Member Lorena Gonzalez) |
February 18, 2021 |
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
This bill, instead, would require the division to issue a citation for a violation of provisions relating to the spraying of asbestos, certain employment safety related provisions of the Labor Code, or any standard, rule, order or regulation established pursuant to specified provisions of the California Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1973 or other safety related provisions of the Labor Code if, upon inspection or investigation, the division believes that an employer has committed a violation. The bill would make conforming changes to the above-described penalty provisions, and would authorize the division to seek an injunction restraining certain uses or operations of employment if it
has grounds to issue a citation pursuant to the above-described violations, as specified.
Digest Key
Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: YES Local Program: NOBill Text
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
SECTION 1.
Section 6317 of the Labor Code is amended to read:6317.
(a) If, upon inspection or investigation, the division believes that an employer has violated Section 25910 of the Health and Safety Code, any standard, rule, order, or regulation established pursuant to Chapter 6 (commencing with Section 140) of Division 1 of the Labor Code,(A)No employee is exposed to the unsafe or unhealthful condition.
(B)The condition is not likely to cause death, serious injury or illness, or serious exposure to an employee.
SEC. 2.
Section 6317.8 is added to the Labor Code, to read:6317.8.
(a) Notwithstanding any other law, if, upon inspection or investigation, the division believes that an employer has willfully and egregiously violated an occupational safety or health standard, order, special order, or regulation, the division, with reasonable promptness, shall issue a citation to that employer for each egregious violation, and each instance of an employee exposed to that violation shall be considered a separate violation for purposes of the issuance of fines and penalties.SEC. 3.
Section 6317.9 is added to the Labor Code, to read:(a)Notwithstanding any other law, if, upon inspection or investigation, the division believes that the employer has committed multiple violations of occupational safety or health standards, orders, special orders, or regulations having the same classification, the division shall, with reasonable promptness, issue a citation to the employer. The division shall note each violation on the citation.
(b)If, upon inspection or investigation, the division believes that the employer has committed multiple interrelated violations of different occupational safety or health standards, orders, special orders, or regulations, the division may, with reasonable promptness,
issue a citation that groups the violations into a single violation.
(c)Subdivisions (a) and (b) do not apply under any of the following circumstances:
(1)The violations are discovered during separate inspections of the same place of employment or worksite.
(2)The violations occur at separate places of employment or worksites of the same employer.
(3)The violations occur at the place of employment or worksite of an employer that has committed an egregious violation
as set forth in Section 6317.8.
6317.9.
(e)For the purposes of this section, a “related employer entity” is an entity with which an employer has a direct business relationship, and with which the employer shares a reliance at least in part on their respective policies, advice, or consultation for compliance with occupational safety and health standards or regulations,
implementation of safety and health programs or policies, or other employer actions involving working conditions with a direct relationship to occupational safety and health, including, but not limited to, employee wages, assignments, supervision, discipline, and termination. “Related employer entities” includes parent corporate entities, subsidiaries, affiliates, providers of labor services, franchisees, and licensees.
SEC. 4.
Section 6323 of the Labor Code is amended to read:6323.
If the division has grounds to issue a citation pursuant to Section 6317, or if the condition of any employment or place of employment or the operation of any machine, device, apparatus, or equipment constitutes a serious menace to the lives or safety of persons about it, the division may apply to the superior court of the county in which such place of employment, machine, device, apparatus, or equipment is situated, for an injunction restraining the use or operation thereof until such condition is corrected.SEC. 5.
Section 6324 of the Labor Code is amended to read:6324.
The application to the superior court accompanied by affidavit showing that the division has grounds to issue a citation pursuant to Section 6317 or a place of employment, machine, device, apparatus, or equipment is being operated in violation of a safety order or(a)Any employer who violates any occupational safety or health standard, order, or special order, Section 25910 of the Health and Safety Code, or any provision of this division, and the violation is specifically determined not to be of a serious nature, may be assessed a civil penalty of up to twelve thousand four hundred seventy-one dollars ($12,471) for each violation.
(b)Commencing on January 1, 2018, and each January 1 thereafter, the maximum penalty amount specified in this section shall be increased based on the percentage increase in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), not seasonally adjusted, for the month of October immediately preceding the date of the
adjustment, as compared to the prior year’s October CPI-U. Any regulation issued pursuant to this section increasing penalty amounts based on the annual increase in the CPI-U shall be exempt from the rulemaking provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code), except that the regulation shall be filed with the Office of Administrative Law for publication in the California Code of Regulations. Any penalty shall be calculated using the penalty amounts in effect during the calendar year in which the citation was issued.
Any employer who violates any occupational safety or health standard, order, or special order, Section 25910 of the Health and Safety Code, or any provision of this division, if that violation is a serious violation, shall be assessed a civil penalty of up to twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000) for each violation. Employers who do not have an operative injury prevention program shall receive no adjustment for good faith of the employer or history of previous violations as provided in paragraphs (3) and (4) of subdivision (c) of Section 6319.
SEC. 8.SEC. 6.
Section 6429 of the Labor Code is amended to read:6429.
(a) (1) Any employer who willfully or repeatedly violates any occupational safety or health standard, order, or special order, or Section 25910 of the Health and Safety Code,(a)Any employer who fails to correct a violation of any occupational safety or health standard, order, or special order, Section 25910 of the Health and Safety Code, or any provision of this division, within the period permitted for its correction shall be assessed a civil penalty of not more than fifteen thousand dollars ($15,000) for each day during which the failure or violation continues.
(b)Notwithstanding subdivision (a), for any employer who submits a signed statement affirming compliance with the abatement terms pursuant to Section 6320, and is found upon a reinspection not to have abated the violation, any adjustment to the civil penalty based on abatement shall be rescinded and the additional civil penalty assessed for failure to abate shall not be adjusted for good faith of the employer or history of previous violations as provided in paragraphs (3) and (4) of subdivision (c) of Section 6319.
(c)Notwithstanding subdivision (a), any employer who submits a signed statement affirming compliance with the abatement terms pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 6320, and is found not to have abated the violation, is guilty of a public offense punishable by imprisonment in a county jail for a term not exceeding one year, or by a fine not exceeding thirty thousand dollars ($30,000), or by both that fine and imprisonment; but if the defendant is a corporation or a limited liability company the fine shall not exceed three hundred thousand dollars ($300,000). In determining the amount of the fine to be imposed under this section, the court shall consider all relevant circumstances, including, but not limited to, the nature, circumstance, extent, and gravity of the violation, any prior history of violations by the defendant, the ability of the
defendant to pay, and any other matters the court determines the interests of justice require. Nothing in this section shall be construed to prevent prosecution under any law that may apply.