Is it fair to say that if someone got HIV on a porn shoot, Cal OSHA might look the other way?

from www.latimes.com – The head of the state Senate’s Labor Committee accused a workplace safety board last Wednesday of being biased toward employers and ignoring a law that requires fines for failing to report on-the-job injuries.

After a hearing, Sen. Mark DeSaulnier (D-Concord-pictured) said he might introduce legislation that could lead to criminal charges against board members if they continue to disregard the law that calls for a $5,000 fine for employers’ failing to report accidents in a timely manner.

The hearing came after a Times investigation last fall that found that the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health appeals board repeatedly dismissed and reduced the penalties levied by division inspectors, even in situations in which workers had died or were seriously injured.

“I’m concerned that it at least appears there may be a prejudice toward the employer,” said DeSaulnier, who added that he found Wednesday’s testimony from state officials, labor advocates and business interests “very troubling.”

“We are not biased,” said Candice Traeger, head of the appeals board, which decides disputes between inspectors and employers. She said her critics have used “misinformation” to wage a campaign against her.

The Times story highlighted the case of Bimbo Bakeries, in which five employees lost fingers or parts of fingers, and one lost an arm, in separate bakery accidents in which inspectors found similar safety violations.

In several of those cases, the appeals board dismissed citations or reduced the fines by thousands of dollars. It also did not require the company to address dangerous conditions.

Also last year, a quarter of Cal/OSHA’s inspectors and district managers complained that its “deterrent effect has been significantly undermined as employers learn they can ‘game the system’ ” partly through appeals.

In January, the U.S. Department of Labor, which oversees Cal/OSHA and other state occupational safety programs, notified state officials that it had launched a “special study” to look into the concerns raised by the inspectors and “the handling of the Bimbo cases.”

If the audit finds problems, federal officials can work with the state to fix them or, in extreme cases, take over parts of Cal/OSHA’s operations.

Len Welsh, chief of Cal/OSHA, told lawmakers at the hearing he expects that the officials will “find that we have problems to fix.”