California lawmakers are advancing a bill to set up a certification program for stone-cutting fabrication shops to help prevent silicosis that is being opposed by worker-safety groups that believe the practice should be banned, as well as a measure aimed at increasing criminal prosecutions of employers when workers are permanently disabled or die.
September 16, 2026
California lawmakers are advancing a labor-backed bill to require a comprehensive academic study of California OSHA’s (Cal/OSHA) chronic “understaffing” and staff position vacancy rate, which would include recommendations on policies the state could pursue to bolster “career pathways” for such positions.
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California lawmakers are advancing a bill to require California OSHA (Cal/OSHA) to develop new rules to protect outdoor workers from “transboundary” pollution -- specifically hazards posed by untreated sewage and industrial wastewater that cross the border from Baja California in Mexico.
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Employers and worker-safety groups are providing final comments on California OSHA’s (Cal/OSHA) proposal to update its workplace inspection “walkaround” rules governing in part who can serve as employee representatives during visits, with some calling for a pause to the process until litigation over federal OSHA’s walkaround rule is resolved.
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A California lawmaker is pursuing legislation to require the Cal/OSHA standards board to adopt new standards to protect outdoor workers from “transboundary” pollution, citing hazards posed by untreated sewage and industrial wastewater that crosses the border from Baja California in Mexico.
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California OSHA’s (Cal/OSHA) standards board is requesting district attorneys (DAs) in seven counties expand enforcement and bring criminal charges against engineered stone fabrication shop owners who are violating crystalline silica worker-protection standards, as the state continues to see a rise in cases of the deadly lung disease silicosis.
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Attorneys are advising employers to closely monitor a new California OSHA (Cal/OSHA) proposal to update its workplace inspection “walkaround” rules governing who can serve as employee representatives during visits, warning that the agency’s proposal goes beyond a controversial Biden administration regulation opposed by industry.
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Employer and industry groups are pressing California OSHA (Cal/OSHA) to scale back certain provisions of a long-overdue rule to update the agency’s first-aid kit requirements for general industry and construction companies, including requirements for additional protections for unique hazards and a new 3-4-minute time limit for employees to access kits.
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The International Surface Fabricators Association (ISFA) is proposing to develop a nationwide program to certify and license shops that cut fabricated stone containing crystalline silica to ensure the practice is performed safely and prevents the lung disease silicosis, countering advocacy groups in California that are seeking a total ban on the products.
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California OSHA (Cal/OSHA) is advancing this year high-profile worker-protection rules that are drawing close scrutiny from employer and employee advocacy groups, including legislatively required measures to prevent workplace violence, heat illness and harms from wildfire smoke.
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