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Subject: Re: CalOSHA & UCLA
Date: Thu, 7 May 2009 10:25:12 -0400
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Subject: Re: CalOSHA & UCLA
Date: Thu, 7 May 2009 20:27:39 -0400
Author: List Moderator


Date: Thu, 7 May 2009 20:26:37 -0400
Reply-To: List Moderator <ecgrants**At_Symbol_Here**UVM.EDU>
Sender: DCHAS-L Discussion List <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**LIST.UVM.EDU>
From: List Moderator <ecgrants**At_Symbol_Here**UVM.EDU>
Subject: Re: CalOSHA & UCLA

From: 	jarmy4**At_Symbol_Here**west.net
Subject: 	Re: [DCHAS-L] CalOSHA & UCLA
Date: 	May 7, 2009 6:06:41 PM EDT (CA)

Dear Fellow Safety Advocates,

I hear some surprise at the extent of the Cal/OSHA fines. I hope you  
are not forgetting where the real hammer lies  in safety enforcement  
in California, and it is not with Cal/OSHA.

Everyone should remember that in the California the primary role of  
Cal/OSHA is to establish responsibility and liability, which is  
evident in this citation. I am not an attorney, but I am very sure  
from past experiences that this case will end up in the judicial  
system where a jury and a  judge will be asked to determine  
compensatory damages, and perhaps punitive damages. This citation  
makes it very difficult for the employer to deny responsibility.

The current compensatory damage award for a fatality in California is  
running around $ 10,000,000  and the Punitive damages for a gross  
negligence fatality could run more than $ 5,000,000. These awards are  
normally subrogated to all parties involved including the responsible  
supervisors and employees. Many companies can not afford to stay in  
business long after these fines awarded. In this case UCLA and the  
state of California will figure out how to fork over 10-20 million  
dollars.

The rule to remember is: It is not a good idea to violate a safety  
regulations, it could get you fined a little. It is very very  
expensive practice to violate a safety regulation and harm an employee.

Jack Armstrong
AZ Safety

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