Bill Text: CA AB3043 | 2023-2024 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Occupational safety: fabrication activities.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 4-0)
Status: (Engrossed) 2024-07-03 - In committee: Set, first hearing. Hearing canceled at the request of author. [AB3043 Detail]
Download: California-2023-AB3043-Amended.html
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Amended
IN
Assembly
May 20, 2024 |
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Amended
IN
Assembly
April 08, 2024 |
CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE—
2023–2024 REGULAR SESSION
Assembly Bill
No. 3043
| Introduced by Assembly Member Luz Rivas (Coauthors: Assembly Members Friedman and Schiavo) (Coauthor: Senator Menjivar) |
February 16, 2024 |
An act to add Chapter 2.2 (commencing with Section 6359.1) to Part 1 of Division 5 of, and to repeal Section 6359.8 6359.7 of, the Labor Code, relating to occupational safety and health.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 3043, as amended, Luz Rivas.
Occupational safety: fabrication activities.
Existing law establishes the Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board within the Department of Industrial Relations to promulgate and enforce occupational safety and health standards for the state, including standards dealing with exposure to harmful airborne contaminants. Existing law requires the Division of Occupational Safety and Health within the department to enforce all occupational safety and health standards, as specified. A violation of these standards and regulations under specific circumstances is a crime.
This bill would prohibit a person engaged in fabrication activities or fabrication shops from using dry methods, and require the use of effective wet methods in any fabrication activities. The bill would make a violation of these provisions grounds for, among other disciplinary action, an immediate
order prohibiting continued fabrication activities. The bill would authorize the Attorney General, upon request of the department, to petition the superior court to impose civil penalties for a violation of these provisions.
The bill would require, on or before July 1, 2025, the department to consult with representatives of approved apprenticeship programs to adopt a training curriculum regarding the safe performance of fabrication activities that meets specified requirements, including classroom instruction, and to certify an individual who has completed that curriculum immediately upon completion. The bill would prohibit, beginning July 1, 2026, an owner or operator of a slab product fabrication shop from permitting any individual from performing fabrication activities or employing an individual to perform work on the shop floor where those activities are conducted, unless the
individual is certified by the department as having completed the training curriculum, except as specified.
The bill would require, on or before January 1, 2026, the department to develop an application and licensing process for fabrication shops to lawfully engage in fabrication activities known as a “slab product fabrication activity” license. The bill would authorize fabrication shops to engage in fabrication activities during the pendency of the application development and licensing process.
The bill would require, beginning January 1, 2026, the department to grant a 3-year license to a fabrication shop that demonstrates satisfaction of specified criteria involving workplace safety conditions and precautions, and would authorize license renewal, as specified. Among other conditions, the bill would establish certain regulatory fees in specified amounts for the license and renewal thereof. The bill would authorize the
department to suspend or revoke a licensee in certain cases, including for gross negligence, as specified. The bill would prohibit a person or entity, or an employee thereof, from engaging in fabrication activities unless the person or entity has a license.
The bill would require, beginning January 1, 2026, an owner or operator of a slab product fabrication shop to pay each employee at least the general prevailing rate of per diem wages for the geographic area for performing fabrication activities, except as otherwise specified. The bill would authorize the department to, among other disciplinary action, suspend or revoke a license if the department finds that the owner or operator willfully violated that provision.
The bill would prohibit, beginning January 1, 2026, a person from supplying a slab
product directly to a person or entity engaged in fabrication activities if the person or entity does not have a valid license. The bill would require a person that, among other things, supplies a slab product to a person or entity engaged in fabrication services to verify the person or entity has a license, as specified. The bill would require a person that supplies a slab product to a person or entity that is not engaged in fabrication activities to rely on written certification issued under penalty of perjury that, among other things, they will not directly engage in fabrication activities with the product without a license. By expanding the scope of the crime of perjury, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
The bill would specify that a violation of any of the above-described provisions may be grounds for disciplinary action, as specified, but is not a crime. The bill would establish the Slab Fabrication Activity Account in the Occupational
Safety and Health Fund in the State Treasury, and require all fees, penalties, or other moneys collected by the department under the above-described provisions to be deposited into the account. The bill would authorize moneys in the account to be expended by the department for the purposes of administering the above-described provisions, and would make that authorization contingent on an appropriation of funds for that express purpose.
The bill would require, beginning January 1, 2026, the Director of Industrial Relations to maintain a publicly accessible database on the department’s internet website that includes, among other things, information on any active orders issued by the department in the prior 12 months prohibiting an activity at a fabrication shop, as specified.
On or before July 1, 2025, the bill would require the department, in consultation with specified agencies, to submit a report to the Legislature
pursuant to prescribed requirements, including specifying the number of violations issued for failure to comply with any temporary or future standards relating to respirable crystalline silica adopted by the board, and the geographic areas in the state with the highest numbers of those violations. On or before January 1, 2027, and January 1, 2029, the bill would require the department, in consultation with other specified entities, to submit a report to the Legislature pursuant to prescribed requirements, including, in addition to the information contained in the initial report, the number of licenses issued by the department pursuant to the above-described provisions. The bill would require the department to collect and include in those reports the disaggregation of applicable data by stone industry, as specified.
The bill would also require the department and the division to consider the findings of the reports to prioritize enforcement of the requirements of the bill’s provisions in geographic areas with the highest numbers of violations or other penalties issued by the department relating to respirable crystalline silica.
The bill would define various terms for these purposes. The bill would make findings and declarations related to these provisions.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
Digest Key
Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: YES Local Program: YESBill Text
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
SECTION 1.
(a) The Legislature finds and declares all of the following regarding silicosis and its associated health impacts:(1) According to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), silicosis is an occupational lung disease caused by the inhalation of respirable dust containing crystalline silica.
(2) According to the State Department of Public Health (CDPH), crystalline silica is in engineered stone, quartz, granite, and other stones. Cutting, grinding, chipping, sanding, drilling, and polishing these products can release hazardous levels of small silica particles into
the air that workers breathe.
(3) When small particles of silica get into the lungs, they can cause permanent scarring and difficulty breathing and can also cause lung cancer, kidney damage, and several autoimmune diseases. Initial symptoms of silicosis can include shortness of breath, cough, and fatigue. Workers can die from silica dust overexposure.
(4) Many cases of incurable and fatal lung problems from exposure to silica dust in stone fabrication workers have been reported around the world and in the United States, including several cases among relatively young workers in California. Workers who cut, grind, and polish engineered stone slabs are at risk.
(5) According to the Los Angeles County Department of
Public Health, silicosis is irreversible and can progress even if a person is no longer exposed to silica dust, but with the right measures in place, it is preventable. It can take a person 10 to 30 years to develop silicosis, but a person who is exposed to high levels of silica dust can develop silicosis faster.
(b) The Legislature finds and declares both of the following regarding the increase in the number of cases of silicosis in California:
(1) Since 2010, more than 1,000 cases of silicosis in workers who fabricate countertops have been reported worldwide. The first cases of silicosis were reported in Spain in 2010 and in Israel in 2012. The first case of silicosis reported in the United States was in Texas in 2015.
(2) According to CDPH, there are 93 countertop workers identified to date with silicosis in California. At least 10 workers have died, most of whom were 30 to 40 years of age, inclusive, 4 workers have received lung transplants, and 5 workers are under evaluation.
(c) The Legislature finds and declares all of the following regarding the increase of silica used in products:
(1) Crystalline silica is a common mineral found in the earth’s crust. Materials like sand, stone, concrete, and mortar contain crystalline silica. Stone slabs containing crystalline silica such as quartz is becoming increasingly popular for kitchen countertops.
(2) Workers who cut, polish, or grind products that contain crystalline silica
can be exposed to hazardous levels of silica dust.
(3) In 1938, according to United States Secretary of Labor Frances Perkins, “silicosis can be prevented.”
(d) The Legislature finds and declares both of the following regarding the impact of silicosis on undocumented workers:
(1) The demographic for workers contracting silicosis are typically young, immigrant workers and is made up of all males with a median age of 45 years of age at diagnosis, with 98 percent originating from Mexico or Central America, and who are most reliant on public insurance or are uninsured.
(2) Physicians at Olive View-UCLA Medical Center in the County of Los Angeles identified a cluster
of patients with a rare occupational lung disease called pulmonary silicosis and played a key role in bringing their cases to light. The patients identified are predominantly Mexican and Latin American immigrant men who work as stonecutters in the San Fernando Valley, cutting synthetic stone kitchen and bathroom countertops. According to a CDPH directory, there are over 100 stone fabrication shops in the center’s catchment area in the San Fernando Valley and over 1,000 within the state, and many other at-risk workers in the County of Los Angeles and throughout the state.
(e) The Legislature finds and declares both of the following regarding the impact of silicosis worldwide:
(1) The New Zealand Council of Trade Unions’ (NZCTU) Te Kauae Kaimahi is once again advancing its call for a
total ban on engineered stone in New Zealand. According to the NZCTU President President, Richard Wagstaff, “the evidence of the harm caused by engineered stone is overwhelming. It is clear to us that a ban on this product is the only option.”
(2) Australia is the first country to announce a ban on engineered stone that will start on July 1, 2024, in most states and territories, and follows a surge in hundreds of workers developing silicosis from working on engineered stone, a popular material mostly used for kitchen benches and bathroom vanities. According to the Australian
Council of Trade Unions’ Assistant Secretary Secretary, Liam O’Brien, “Engineered stone is a fashion product that is killing the workers who make it. With alternatives readily available, why are we risking the lives of tradies for a fashionable finish in our kitchens?”
(f) The Legislature finds and declares that California must use the information described in these findings to determine the cost-benefit ratio to workers and whether existing regulations adequately protect workers from contracting silicosis.
(g) Therefore, it is the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation that would help protect and prevent
worker overexposure to respirable crystalline silica by imposing all of the following requirements:
(1) Prohibiting the undertaking of fabrication activities without the use of effective wet methods that effectively suppress dust.
(2) Requiring a slab product fabrication activity license for fabrication shops to engage in fabrication activities involving stone slab product that contain crystalline silica.
(3) Prohibiting a person or entity from directly or indirectly supplying a slab product to a person or entity engaged in fabrication activities that is not associated with a valid slab product fabrication activity license.
(4) Requiring the Department of
Industrial Relations to maintain a publicly accessible database on its internet website that includes, but is not limited to, a list of workplaces with any enforcement actions pending at those workplaces.
SEC. 2.
Chapter 2.2 (commencing with Section 6359.1) is added to Part 1 of Division 5 of the Labor Code, to read:CHAPTER 2.2. Fabrication Activities
6359.1.
For purposes of this chapter, the following definitions apply:(a) “Department” means the Department of Industrial Relations.
(b) “Director” means the Director of Industrial Relations.
(c) “Dry methods” means the undertaking of fabrication activities without the use of effective wet methods that effectively suppress dust.
(d) “Effective wet methods” means suppressing dust by one of the methods identified below, which ensure that water covers the entire surface of the work object where a tool, equipment,
or machine contacts the work object:
(1) Applying a constant, continuous, and appropriate volume of running water directly onto the surface of the work object. When water flow is integrated with a tool, machine, or equipment, water flow rates shall equal or exceed manufacturer recommendations and specifications to ensure effective dust suppression.
(2) Submersing the work object under water.
(3) Water jet cutting or use of high-pressure water to cut material.
(e) (1) “Fabrication activities” means machining, crushing, cutting, drilling, abrading, abrasive blasting, grinding, chiseling, carving, gouging, polishing, buffing,
fracturing, intentional breaking, or intentional chipping of slab products.
(2) “Fabrication activities” does not include onsite construction work covered by Section 1532.3 of Title 8 of the California Code of Regulations.
(f) (1) “Fabrication shop” means a location where fabrication activities are undertaken on slab products.
(2) “Fabrication shop” does not include facilities where slab products are manufactured, including, but not limited to, quarries, concrete manufacturing facilities, or tile manufacturing facilities.
(g) “License” means a slab product fabrication activity license to engage in fabrication activities that is issued to a
fabrication shop by the department pursuant to this chapter.
(h) “Respirable crystalline silica” means quartz, cristobalite, or tridymite contained in airborne particles that are determined to be respirable by a sampling device designed to meet the characteristics for respirable-particle-size-selective samplers specified in the Air Quality – Particle Size Fraction Definitions for Health-Related Sampling in Report 7708 completed by the International Organization for Standardization in 1995.
(i) “Slab product” means a thick, flat piece of a solid stone substance, including artificial, engineered, or natural stone that is used for countertop installation or customization.
6359.15.
(a) The Slab Fabrication Activity Account is hereby created in the Occupational Safety and Health Fund, as established pursuant to Section 62.5, in the State Treasury.(b) All fees, penalties, or other moneys collected by the department under this chapter shall be deposited in the Slab Fabrication Activity Account.
(c) Upon appropriation by the Legislature for this express purpose, moneys in the account may be expended by the department for the purposes of administering this chapter.
6359.2.
(a) A person or entity engaged in fabrication activities or fabrication shops shall not use dry methods in any fabrication activities.(b) A person or entity engaged in fabrication activities or fabrication shops shall use effective wet methods in any fabrication activities.
(c) (1) A violation of this section shall be grounds for an immediate order prohibiting continued fabrication activities by the director and may be grounds for additional fines and penalties, as determined by the director to further the purposes of this chapter.
(2) Notwithstanding any provision of this division to the contrary, a violation of this section is not a crime.
(d) A violation of this section may be reported to the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement.
(e)The Attorney General, upon request of the department, may petition the superior court to impose civil penalties for a violation of this section.
6359.3.
(a) On or before July 1, 2025, the department shall consult with representatives of approved apprenticeship programs to adopt a training curriculum regarding the safe performance of fabrication activities.(1) The training curriculum shall satisfy both of the following requirements:
(A) The training curriculum shall cover applicable occupational safety and health standards.
(B) The training curriculum shall include classroom instruction and supervised hands-on activities.
(2) An approved apprenticeship program or the California Community Colleges may provide the training curriculum. The department shall approve alternative providers if approved apprenticeship programs or the California Community Colleges do not offer training programs sufficient to meet the needs of the industry.
(b) Beginning on July 1, 2026, an owner or operator of a slab product fabrication shop shall not permit any individual to perform fabrication activities or employ an individual to perform work on the shop floor where fabrication activities are conducted, unless the individual has been certified pursuant to the training curriculum described in this section.
(1) The owner or operator of a slab product fabrication shop shall be responsible for paying for the costs of the training curriculum of its employees.
(2) The department shall certify an individual who has completed the approved training curriculum immediately upon completion.
(3) This subdivision shall not apply to an individual who is enrolled in, or who has graduated from, an apprenticeship program that covers fabrication activities and is approved by the Division of Apprenticeship Standards.
6359.4.
(a) (1) On or before January 1, 2026, the department shall develop an application and licensing process for a “slab product fabrication activity” license to authorize fabrication shops to engage in fabrication activities.(2) Notwithstanding any provision of this chapter to the contrary, a fabrication shop may continue to engage in fabrication activities during the pendency of the application development and licensing process.
(3) This subdivision shall become inoperative on January 1, 2026.
(b) (1) Commencing January 1, 2026, the department shall accept an application for and grant a license to a fabrication shop that demonstrates to the department satisfaction of all of the following workplace safety conditions and precautions:
(A) Evidence of a legally obtained and valid business license and applicable state contractor’s license.
(B) Evidence of satisfactory workers’ compensation insurance coverage.
(C) Demonstration of compliance with any occupational safety and health standards and orders that are promulgated by the Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board pursuant to Section 142.3.
(D) Implementation of an air quality
monitoring program consistent with any occupational safety and health standards and orders that are promulgated by the Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board pursuant to Section 142.3, and documentation of verification of implementation by a third party that is normally engaged in those kinds of verifications.
(E) Documentation of completion by all employees of a technical training program focused on the prevention of workplace respirable crystalline silica exposure, including the use of protective equipment and control measures, that is approved by the department.
(2) The department, or a third party certified by the department for this purpose, shall inspect a fabrication shop before the issuance of the license to verify that the equipment and procedures of the fabrication
shop are in compliance with any occupational safety and health standards and orders that are promulgated by the Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board pursuant to Section 142.3.
(3) An applicant for a license shall submit to the department an initial license application, including an application fee in the amount of four hundred fifty dollars ($450) and an initial license fee in the amount of two hundred dollars ($200), which shall be deposited in the Slab Fabrication Activity Account in the Occupational Safety and Health Fund for the purposes of administering this chapter.
(4) Each license granted by the department shall be for a three-year period.
(5) (A) The department shall
accept a renewal application for and grant a license renewal to a licensee who demonstrates to the department continued compliance with all of the following workplace safety conditions and precautions:
(i) Evidence of compliance with the requirements of any occupational safety and health standards and orders that are promulgated by the Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board pursuant to Section 142.3.
(ii) Documentation of certified air quality monitoring results consistent with any occupational safety and health standards and orders that are promulgated by the Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board pursuant to Section 142.3 over the prior three years.
(iii) Documentation of information related to
employee-reported silicosis cases.
(iv) Beginning July 1, 2026, documentation that all individuals who perform fabrication activities or perform work on a shop floor where fabrication activities are being conducted have been certified, or are exempt from certification, pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 6359.3.
(B) The department, or a third party certified by the department for this purpose, shall inspect a fabrication shop before the issuance of a license renewal to verify that the equipment and procedures of the fabrication shop are in compliance with any occupational safety and health standards and orders that are promulgated by the Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board pursuant to Section 142.3.
(C) An applicant for a license renewal shall submit to the department a license renewal fee in the amount of four hundred fifty dollars ($450), which shall be deposited in the Slab Fabrication Activity Account in the Occupational Safety and Health Fund for the purposes of administering this chapter.
(D) A licensee may continue to engage in fabrication activities during the pendency of the license renewal application.
(6) The department may suspend or revoke a license issued pursuant to this section if the department finds that the licensee has engaged in gross negligence, gross incompetence, or willful or repeated disregard of an occupational safety and health standard or order.
(7) (A) A person or entity, or an employee of a person or entity, shall not engage in fabrication activities without a license issued by the department pursuant to this chapter.
(B) A violation of this paragraph may be reported to the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement.
(C) Notwithstanding any provision of this division to the contrary, a violation of this paragraph is not a crime.
(a)The owner or operator shall pay each employee
performing fabrication activities at least the general prevailing rate of per diem wages for the geographic area, as published by the director pursuant to Sections 1773 and 1773.9 of the Labor Code, for performing fabrication activities, except that the owner or operator may pay apprentices registered in programs approved by the Chief of the Division of Apprenticeship Standards at least the applicable apprentice prevailing rate.
(b)(1)An owner or operator in violation of this section shall be subject to a fine of two hundred dollars ($200) per employee per day for each violation of this section.
(2)Notwithstanding any provision of this division to the contrary, a violation of this section is not a crime.
(c)The department may suspend or revoke a license issued pursuant to this section if the department finds that the owner or operator willfully violated this section.
(d)The prevailing wage requirement described in subdivision (a) shall be enforceable by the Labor Commissioner or by an employee by a civil action through the same means and with the same relief available for violation of any other state minimum wage requirement.
(e)The remedies provided in this section are in addition to any other remedies provided by law.
(f)This section shall become operative on January 1, 2026.
6359.6.6359.5.
(a) A person shall not supply a slab product directly to a person or entity engaged in fabrication activities if the person or entity engaged in fabrication activities does not have a valid license.(1) A person that supplies a slab product to a person or entity engaged in fabrication activities shall verify that the person or entity has a valid license before providing the slab product to the person or entity.
(2) A person
that supplies a slab product to a person or entity that is not engaged in fabrication activities shall rely on a written certification issued under penalty of perjury from the person that the person will not directly engage in fabrication activities with the product without a license and that, if the person resells the product, the person will resell to a person or entity with a license.
(b) A person that seeks services that require fabrication activities and enters into a contract with a person or entity to undertake fabrication activities shall verify that the person or entity has a valid license before engaging with and providing slab products to that person or entity.
(c) (1) A violation of this subdivision may be grounds for penalties as determined by the
director to further the purposes of this chapter.
(2) Notwithstanding any provision of this division to the contrary, a violation of this section is not a crime.
(d) This section shall become operative on January 1, 2026.
6359.7.6359.6.
Beginning January 1, 2026, the director shall maintain a publicly accessible database on the department’s internet website that includes
all of the following:(a) Information on any active orders issued by the department in the prior 12 months prohibiting an activity at a fabrication shop pursuant to this chapter.
(b) Information on fabrication shops in the state licensed pursuant to this chapter and on any enforcement actions pending at those licensed fabrication shops.
(c) An online tool to report suspected or alleged violations of this chapter.
6359.8.6359.7.
(a) (1) On or before July 1, 2025, the department shall, in consultation with the Labor and Workforce Development Agency, the Division of Occupational Safety and Health, and the State Department of Public Health, submit a report to the Legislature that includes all of the following information:(A) The number of violations issued for failure to comply with any temporary or future standards relating to respirable crystalline silica adopted by the Occupational Safety and Health
Standards
Board, and the geographic areas in the state with the highest numbers of those violations.
(B) The number of new cases of silicosis identified since the passage of any temporary or future standards relating to respirable crystalline silica adopted by the Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board.
(C) An assessment of the risk to the health of workers from failing to comply with any temporary or future standards or future standards relating to respirable crystalline silica adopted by the Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board.
(D) An assessment on the ban of silica-based products in Australia and the movement for a similar ban in New Zealand, and the associated benefit to the health and safety of
those workers.
(E) The overall success or gaps in protections provided to the workers in the temporary or future standards relating to respirable crystalline silica.
(F) Updates on steps taken by the department or the Division of Occupational Safety and Health to increase the ratio of industrial hygienists to workers exposed to respirable crystalline silica.
(G) The number of notices issued to fabrication shops found to be in noncompliance with department regulations relating to respirable crystalline silica.
(2) A report to be submitted pursuant to paragraph (1) shall be submitted in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government Code.
(b) (1) On or before January 1, 2027, and on or before January 1, 2029, the department shall, in consultation with the Division of Occupational Safety and Health, the State Department of Public Health, and the Labor and Workforce Development Agency, submit a report to the Legislature that includes all of the following information:
(A) The information specified in subparagraphs (A) to (E), inclusive, of paragraph (1) of subdivision (a).
(B) Updates on steps taken by the department or the Division of Occupational Safety and Health to increase the ratio of industrial hygienists to workers exposed to respirable crystalline silica.
(C) The number of
licenses, violations for failure to comply with licensure requirements, and license suspensions or revocations issued by the department pursuant to this chapter, and the geographic areas with the highest numbers of those penalties.
(D) The number of notices issued to fabrication shops found to be in noncompliance with department regulations relating to respirable crystalline silica.
(E) The overall enhancement to workers protections with the license program, including any successes or gaps.
(2) A report to be submitted pursuant to paragraph (1) shall be submitted in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government Code.
(c) The department shall collect and include in the reports required by this section the disaggregation of applicable data by stone industry, including, but not limited to, stone industries involved in cutting stones for benches, tombstones, and tile work.
(c)
(d) The department and the Division of Occupational Safety and Health shall use the findings of the reports submitted pursuant to this section to prioritize enforcement of the requirements of this chapter in geographic areas with the highest numbers of violations or other penalties
issued by the department relating to respirable crystalline silica, including, but not limited to, the San Fernando Valley.
(d)
(e) Pursuant to Section 10231.5 of the Government Code, this section is repealed on January 1, 2031.
