The head of California's worker safety program told legislators Wednesday the agency's Appeals Board didn't always do the right thing when it slashed fines against businesses whose workers died of heat stroke in recent years.
Cal-OSHA chief Len Welsh told the state Senate Committee on Labor and Industrial Relations he believed some cases should have gone to legal proceedings instead of being settled for less – at times only a few hundred dollars – during the appeal processes.
But Welsh said his occupational safety agency's goal is to change "workplace culture" to prevent worker deaths, and that Cal-OSHA shouldn't be judged mostly by how much in fines it collects.
The Appeals Board, which is independent of Cal-OSHA's inspection wing, is under scrutiny in the Legislature for allegations that it may have sacrificed worker safety by letting employers off easy and reducing fines too often.
A bill is pending in the Assembly to require the Appeals Board to report annually on results of appeals and why fines were reduced.
Marta Guzman of the California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation told the Senate committee that cutting fines has amounted to "a slap on the hand" for companies.
In one case, $13,500 in fines issued were cut to $250 for a labor contractor after a worker died of heat stress in 2005. Some witnesses said the work crew had no heat-stress training and insufficient water.
Appeals Board Chairwoman Candice Traeger told the committee that when she was appointed in 2004 she was under pressure by a federal requirement to clear a backlog of cases.
But labor advocates and some employers complained that to accomplish that, Traeger scheduled multiple hearings at the same time and in fewer cities than in the past.
Some Cal-OSHA lawyers, advocates said, were forced to settle many cases as a result, and witnesses declined to testify because they had to drive hundreds of miles and take too much time off work.
"Clearing the backlog was a shared-sacrifice time," Traeger said. Now the board can "reinvent" itself, she said.
She said she's working with advocates and employers on making changes they have suggested.
Sen. Mark DeSaulnier, D-Concord, congratulated Traeger for clearing the backlog.
But he pressed her on why she believes the board has a right to cut mandatory minimum fines of $5,000 for employers that fail to report accidents within a required time.
Traeger, in response to the issue, said, "The board stands by its decision."
Call Susan Ferriss, Bee Capitol Bureau, (916) 321-1267.
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