California bill: Abate hazards during appeals
Sacramento, CA – Reacting to a Chevron refinery fire last year that resulted in thousands of people seeking medical attention after breathing toxic emissions, a California lawmaker has introduced legislation to require abatement of unsafe conditions during any appeals process.
In January, the state’s occupational safety and health program – known as Cal/OSHA – cited Chevron with a record $1 million in penalties for 25 workplace violations in connection with the refinery fire. Presently, employers cited by Cal/OSHA do not have to immediately abate violations until after the appeals process is exhausted. The legislation (A.B. 1165) would require unsafe conditions to be corrected in a "timely" manner, according to a press release.
Assemblymember Nancy Skinner (D) introduced the bill Feb. 22, stating in the press release that it would help improve worker and public safety while violations are being appealed.
A second bill (SB 691) spurred by the Chevron fire was introduced Feb. 22 that, if passed, would increase the civil penalties that companies must pay for violating air quality regulations.
Post a comment to this article
Safety+Health welcomes comments that promote respectful dialogue. Please stay on topic. Comments that contain personal attacks, profanity or abusive language – or those aggressively promoting products or services – will be removed. We reserve the right to determine which comments violate our comment policy. (Anonymous comments are welcome; merely skip the “name” field in the comment box. An email address is required but will not be included with your comment.)