CAL-OSHA Consultation
 June 1, 2009

Cal/OSHA is frequently associated with accident investigations and citations.  The fact is, OSHA provides a variety of services that will help California employers maintain safe workplaces, free of charge. These services are aimed at developing skills for employers that facilitate effective safety inspections, safety meetings and accident investigations. These produce not only safe workplaces, but ultimately healthier employees and lower workers’ compensation costs.

The Cal OSHA Consultative Program is one of many OSHA sponsored, free programs that are provided upon request to California employers.  It includes on-site visits, telephone support and an extensive library of safety related publications. This combined with both CMTA’s and State Fund’s considerable resources provide CMTA members with many avenues to obtain help in safety compliance and loss control support, and at no additional cost.

Employers sometimes express concern that inviting OSHA in will result in citations and fines. In reality, OSHA consultation evaluations and recommendations are completely independent of the OSHA enforcement program. Additionally, consultation activities are prevented by law from being communicated to the enforcement program.

There are no repercussions from seeking help from the OSHA consultation unit.  OSHA recognizes the greater value of having employers operating safely.  This serves the greater interest in California as a whole and far outweighs the punitive value of citations and fines.

Cal/OSHA also offers several partnership programs designed to improve occupational safety in California’s workplaces. These include:

California Voluntary Protection Program – a health leadership program design for fixed site establishments.

Golden State – a safety and health leadership program designed specifically for non-fixed worksite employers.

SHARP – this is the Safety and Health Achievement Recognition Program which offers eligible employers an exemption from the OSHA enforcement program inspections.

Golden Gate – this program is designed for high hazard, smaller employers.

Alliances – enables organizations committed to workplace safety to collaborate and share ideas on how to improve workplace safety.

Employers can contact the Cal/OSHA consultation program at 1-800-963-9424 or contact them by e-mail at infocons@dir.ca.gov for more information. We also recommend you visit their website at
www.dir.ca.gov/dosh.

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