California Assembly Bill AB2774 Amended / Bill

 BILL NUMBER: AB 2774AMENDED BILL TEXT AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 8, 2010 INTRODUCED BY Committee on Labor and Employment (Monning  (Swanson  (Chair),  Eng,  Furutani,  Ma   Monning  , and  Portantino)  Yamada) MARCH 1, 2010 An act to amend Section  6432   6325  of the Labor Code, relating to employment. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST AB 2774, as amended, Committee on Labor and Employment.  Health and safety: term defined.   Occupational safety and health.   Existing law, the California Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1973, establishes enforcement procedures for the requirements related to safe and healthful working conditions for Californians. The Division of Occupational Safety and Health of the Department of Industrial Relations is charged with enforcing occupational health and safety laws, orders, and standards, including the investigation of alleged violations of those provisions.   Existing law requires the division, when it decides that a place of employment, machine, device, apparatus, or equipment constitutes an imminent hazard to employees, to prohibit entry to the workplace or use of the machine, device, apparatus, or equipment.   This bill would specify that a place of employment may be deemed dangerous because a particular machine, device, apparatus, or piece of equipment, as well as a condition or practice in a place of employment, constitutes an imminent hazard to employees.   Existing law defines the term "serious violation" for purposes of enforcement of health and safety regulations.   This bill would make nonsubstantive changes to this provision.  Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee:  no   yes  . State-mandated local program: no. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:  SECTION 1.   Section 6325 of the   Labor Code   is amended to read:  6325. When, in the opinion of the division, a place of employment  ,  is dangerous to employees because of a condition or practice, or because a  machine, device, apparatus, or  piece of  equipment or any part thereof is in a dangerous condition, is not properly guarded  ,  or is dangerously placed so  as to constitute   that the condition or practice of the workplace or the machine, device, apparatus, or piece of equipment constitutes  an imminent hazard to employees, entry therein, or the use thereof, as the case may be, shall be prohibited by the division, and a conspicuous notice to that effect shall be attached thereto.  Such   The  prohibition of use shall be limited to the immediate area in which the imminent hazard exists, and the division shall not prohibit any entry in or use of a place of employment, machine, device, apparatus, or  piece of  equipment, or any part thereof, which is outside  such   the  area of imminent hazard.  Such   The  notice shall not be removed except by an authorized representative of the division, nor until the place of employment, machine, device, apparatus, or equipment is made safe and the required safeguards or safety appliances or devices are provided. This section shall not prevent the entry or use with the division's knowledge and permission for the sole purpose of eliminating the dangerous conditions.  SECTION 1.   Section 6432 of the Labor Code is amended to read: 6432. (a) As used in this part, a "serious violation" shall be deemed to exist in a place of employment if there is a substantial probability that death or serious physical harm could result from a violation, including circumstances where there is a substantial probability that either of the following could result in death or great bodily injury: (1) A serious exposure exceeding an established permissible exposure limit. (2) The existence of one or more practices, means, methods, operations, or processes which have been adopted or are in use in the place of employment. (b) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), a serious violation shall not be deemed to exist if the employer can demonstrate that it did not, and could not with the exercise of reasonable diligence, know of the presence of the violation. (c) As used in this section, "substantial probability" refers not to the probability that an accident or exposure will occur as a result of the violation, but rather to the probability that death or serious physical harm will result assuming an accident or exposure occurs as a result of the violation.