Expert Advocacy

What are My Employer’s Duties Regarding Workplace Safety?

In California, workplace safety in most places of employment is regulated by Cal/OSHA, the government agency responsible for enforcing health and safety regulations. When Cal/OSHA regulations are violated, workers can file reports with the agency that will trigger an investigation and correction, if necessary. These reports can be filed anonymously: although Cal/OSHA will know which worker filed the report, the worker can request that their name be kept confidential from the employer.

Under requirements established by Cal/OSHA, employers have certain responsibilities toward their workers. These include:

• Making employees aware of their rights and responsibilities under Cal/OSHA rules
• Creating and using an effective written illness and injury prevention program for employees
• Staying aware of the hazards each employee faces on the job and training each employee to safely approach specific job hazards
• Correcting any hazardous conditions that may result in serious injuries to employees
• Never allowing employees to do work that violates Cal/OSHA rules
• Never allowing employees to be exposed to hazardous substances or conditions without proper protective equipment, tools, or training
• Never allowing untrained employees to do hazardous work

Employees have the right to point out Cal/OSHA violations and to refuse to do any work that would expose them to a hazardous situation in violation of these regulations. If your workplace is investigated by a Cal/OSHA investigator, you have the right to point out dangerous conditions to the investigator.

If you’ve been injured on the job, don’t wait: call the skilled San Diego personal injury attorneys for a free and confidential case evaluation.