CA Workplace Safety Program Reduces Injuries

According to a new study by the RAND Corp., the California Injury and Illness Prevention Program requiring all businesses to eliminate workplace hazards helps thwart injuries to workers if adequately enforced. The program, which became effective in 1991, requires all employers to communicate to employees about risks, carry out regular workplace surveys and provide proper safety training and injury investigations. After the program’s first-ever evaluation, evidence shows that it reduces workplace injuries at businesses that had been cited for not addressing the regulation’s more-specific safety mandates. When Cal/OSHA inspectors investigated further and found failures to comply with provisions, the average injury rates at targeted businesses declined more than 20% the following two years. However, these provisions were cited in only about 5% of the inspections while in the other 20% where a violation of the rule was cited, it was only for the section requiring the employer have a written program. Such a violation carries an average penalty of $150. The program has been the most frequently violated Cal/OSHA standard every year since 1991. The study also found that employers who were cited for violations one inspection usually came into compliance in future inspections. In addition, the RAND study notes that higher penalties for noncompliance with the program and more extensive activities to make employers aware of their obligations could enhance compliance.