Cal OSHA definition and useful information for employers

20 of January, 2025

The term Cal OSHA, or also known as Cal/OSHA, refers to the California Occupational Safety and Health Act, a state program for occupational health and safety with jurisdictions in California. If you are an employer then your business, and your employees are under the authority of this regulatory body.

What is Cal OSHA?

The Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) allows individual states to create “state plans”. These can be used to govern companies that fall within their jurisdiction. The agency which governs the state of California is what is referred to as the Cal OSHA. And this term is more of a nickname and not the official moniker of the program. 

Like other state plans, the Cal/OSHA serves as a state-level regulatory body for workplace safety and health. Under the California Code of Regulations (CCR), their main task is to create and enforce laws concerning workers’ safety and health in the state.

Is Cal OSHA Different from OSHA?

Both were born for the same purpose: to regulate workplace safety and health. The major difference between these two is that one of them, Cal OSHA is a state law. While the other, OSHA is a federal law. 

With that in mind, being practically a separate body from OSHA, Cal/OSHA laws have a few variations.

How different are Cal OSHA laws?

OSHA requires that state standards are at least as effective as their federal counterparts. As a rule of thumb, this would mean that if a state doesn’t adopt corresponding federal standards just as they are, then their standards have to be higher. This is the case with the state of California which has several variations from the typical federal laws.

The state of California has broader and stricter standards than OSHA’s federal standards. For this reason, employees under the jurisdiction of Cal/OSHA need to pay special attention to California’s state-level standards. 

California’s standards vary from federal standards in two major ways:

• They are stricter and more protective than the federal standards.
• California OSHA has standards that have no federal counterparts.

Cal/OSHA standards that are stricter than federal standards

• Bloodborne Pathogen (BBP) standard: In comparison to the federal standard, Cal/OSHA requires that employers provide more extensive information both in selection and evaluation procedures in the case of an injury report.
• Mining and Tunneling standards: Cal/OSHA has more extensive requirements for tunnel construction progress. It also covers finishing operations that are not part of the federal program.
• Permissible Exposure Limit (PELs): Cal/OSHA has higher PELs for air contamination. Unlike the federal standards, which haven’t changed since 1970, those of CalOSHA have been updated over 20 times, becoming more protective with each change.
• Process Safety Management enforcement: California OSHA takes a more active approach to inspections and enforcement. Making more regular and thorough inspections of factories and plants than their federal counterparts. 

OSHA Standards unique to California 

• Aerosol Transmissible Disease (ATD): this standard only applies to the healthcare industry to prevent the spread of contagious diseases that travel by air. 
• Heat Illness Prevention Program: this is a safety measure to address and prevent health problems like heat stroke, exhaustion, and rashes in outdoor workers. 
• Injury and Illness Prevention Program (IIPP): this standard requires that employers create plans that prevent health and safety hazards in the workplace.
• Repetitive Motion Injury (RMI) Prevention Program: this standard mandates an ergonomic program for workplaces with a history of RMIs. It is the only such OSH standard in the country.

With Cal OSHA having stricter standards than its federal counterpart, businesses under this regulation must pay special attention to the state standards. Failure to do so might lead to sanctions and fines which could have easily been prevented otherwise.

Did you find this information useful? We hope so. To learn more about labor laws and human resources visit our blog section.

Marina Folgado

Senior Payroll Specialist | LinkedIn | | Web | +post

Marina Folgado is a seasoned Human Resources professional with over 15 years of experience in the field. Throughout her career, she has held significant roles in renowned companies such as Artvisual, Summon Press, Zeus, and Sesame HR. Marina's career is marked by her dedication to optimizing human resources management and her ability to adapt to the evolving technological landscape. Her contributions have been instrumental in the success and growth of the organizations she has been part of.

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