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Section 7 of 7 · about 14% of the exam

Safety

Official subtopics: Training and reporting requirements, General safety, Hazardous/unknown materials.

Safety is about 14% of the CSLB Law and Business exam. The CSLB study guide lists three subtopics: training and reporting requirements, general safety, and hazardous and unknown materials. Construction employers in California must follow the Labor Code and Cal/OSHA safety regulations (Cal/OSHA Construction Guide). This note covers the employer's basic duties, the written injury prevention program, injury reporting, and hazardous materials.

The employer's basic duties

  • A safe workplace. Every employer must provide employment and a place of employment that is safe and healthful for its employees. (Lab. Code §6400)
  • Safety devices and safe methods. Every employer must provide and use safety devices and safeguards, use safe practices and methods, and do everything else reasonably necessary to protect employees' life, safety, and health. (Lab. Code §6401)
  • Multiemployer worksites. On a site with several employers, Cal/OSHA may cite the employer whose workers were exposed to a hazard, the employer who created it, the employer who controlled safety on the site, and the employer responsible for correcting it. The creating, controlling, and correcting employers can be cited even if none of their own employees were exposed. (Lab. Code §6400)

The Injury and Illness Prevention Program (IIPP)

Every employer must set up, carry out, and keep an effective injury prevention program. It must be written (with limited exceptions) and include at least (Lab. Code §6401.7):

  1. the person or people responsible for the program;
  2. a system to find and evaluate workplace hazards, including scheduled periodic inspections;
  3. methods to correct unsafe conditions and work practices in a timely manner;
  4. a safety training program, with general safe work practices and instruction on the hazards of each employee's job;
  5. a system for communicating with employees about safety, which encourages employees to report hazards without fear of reprisal;
  6. a system to make sure employees follow safe work practices, which may include discipline;
  7. a workplace violence prevention plan.

Training

  • When to train. Train all employees when the program is first set up, all new employees, and employees given a new job assignment. Also train employees when new substances, processes, procedures, or equipment bring a new hazard, and when you learn of a new or previously unrecognized hazard. (Lab. Code §6401.7)
  • Construction training programs. A licensed construction employer may use training from a Cal/OSHA-approved construction industry safety training program. The employer then only has to provide training on hazards specific to each employee's job. (Lab. Code §6401.7)
  • Records. Keep appropriate records of the steps taken to carry out the program. (Lab. Code §6401.7)
  • Fix hazards based on severity. Correct unsafe conditions and work practices in a timely manner, based on how severe the hazard is. (Lab. Code §6401.7)

Reporting injuries

  • Every injury with lost time or medical treatment. File a complete report of every work injury or illness that causes lost time beyond the day of the injury, or needs medical treatment beyond first aid. File it with the Department of Industrial Relations, or with your insurer if you are insured, within five days after you learn of it. (Lab. Code §6409.1)
  • Serious injury, illness, or death. In addition, report every serious injury or illness, or death, immediately to the Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA), by phone or its online reporting system (or email until that system exists). A violation can bring a civil penalty of at least $5,000. (Lab. Code §6409.1)
  • What "serious" means. A serious injury or illness is one that needs inpatient hospitalization (other than for observation or diagnostic testing), or in which an employee suffers an amputation, the loss of an eye, or any serious degree of permanent disfigurement. An accident on a public street or highway does not count, unless it happened in a construction zone. Serious injury or illness also includes silicosis and silica-related lung cancer. (Lab. Code §6302)

Hazardous and unknown materials

  • More than one regulator. Contractors who work with asbestos or other hazardous substances are regulated by federal OSHA, by Cal/OSHA (DOSH), and by CSLB, and must meet certification, registration, reporting, and safety requirements. (CSLB: Get Licensed to Build)
  • Asbestos. CSLB issues a C-22 Asbestos Abatement license and a separate Asbestos Certification. Both require an EPA-accredited asbestos abatement training course and registration with DOSH's Asbestos Contractors' Registration Unit, among other steps. (CSLB: Get Licensed to Build)
  • Other hazardous substances. Contractors who remove hazardous substances must be certified by CSLB and pass a CSLB certification exam. (CSLB: Get Licensed to Build)
  • Cal/OSHA topics. Cal/OSHA's construction guide lists many related rules, including hazard communication (Safety Data Sheets), lead, silica, confined spaces, fall protection, excavations, and heat illness prevention. (Cal/OSHA Construction Guide)

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