California OSHA Chief Len Welsh, in an exclusive interview with Inside OSHA Online, asserts that federal auditors “didn’t get it” when they criticized his agency for a less-than-national-average number of serious violation citations, arguing that the figure is a sign the California program is working, not that it is deficient. Welsh is gearing up to fight with federal OSHA over whether California’s occupational safety and health program is “as least as effective,” as the federal program, which is the fundamental standard for moving from a provisional to a fully delegated state plan. “I think w
December 30, 2025