Chapter 1 - Jurisdiction and Duties

California Labor Code — §§ 6300-6332

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Sections (56)

Repealed and added by Stats. 1973, Ch. 993.

The California Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1973 is hereby enacted for the purpose of assuring safe and healthful working conditions for all California working men and women by authorizing the enforcement of effective standards, assisting and encouraging employers to maintain safe and healthful working conditions, and by providing for research, information, education, training, and enforcement in the field of occupational safety and health.

§ 6301

Repealed and added by Stats. 1973, Ch. 993.

The definitions set forth in this chapter shall govern the construction and interpretation of this part.

§ 6302

Amended by Stats. 2025, Ch. 734, Sec. 2. (SB 20) Effective January 1, 2026.

As used in this division:

(a)“Director” means the Director of Industrial Relations.

(b)“Department” means the Department of Industrial Relations.

(c)“Insurer” includes the State Compensation Insurance Fund and any private company, corporation, mutual association, and reciprocal or interinsurance exchange, authorized under the laws of this state to insure employers against liability for compensation under this part and under Division 4 (commencing with Section 3201), and any employer to whom a certificate of consent to self-insure has been issued.

(d)“Division” means the Division of

Occupational Safety and Health.

(e)“Standards board” means the Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board, within the department.

(f)“Appeals board” means the Occupational Safety and Health Appeals Board, within the department.

(g)“Aquaculture” means a form of agriculture as defined in Section 17 of the Fish and Game Code.

(h)“Serious injury or illness” means any injury or illness occurring in a place of employment or in connection with any employment that requires inpatient hospitalization, for other than medical observation or diagnostic testing, or in which an employee suffers an amputation, the loss of an eye, or any serious degree of permanent disfigurement, but does not include any injury or illness or death caused by an accident on a

public street or highway, unless the accident occurred in a construction zone. “Serious injury or illness” includes silicosis and silica-related lung cancer.

(i)“Serious exposure” means any exposure of an employee to a hazardous substance when the exposure occurs as a result of an incident, accident, emergency, or exposure over time and is in a degree or amount sufficient to create a realistic possibility that death or serious physical harm in the future could result from the actual hazard created by the exposure.

§ 6303

Amended by Stats. 2024, Ch. 895, Sec. 1. (SB 1350) Effective January 1, 2025. Operative July 1, 2025, by its own provisions.

(a)“Place of employment” means any place, and the premises appurtenant thereto, where employment is carried on, except a place where the health and safety jurisdiction is vested by law in, and actively exercised by, any state or federal agency other than the division.

(b)“Employment” includes the carrying on of any trade, enterprise, project, industry, business, occupation, or work, including all excavation, demolition, and construction work, or any process or operation in any way related thereto, in which any person is engaged or permitted to work for

hire. “Employment” includes household domestic service performed on a permanent or temporary basis, but does not include any of the following:

(1)Household domestic service that is publicly funded, including publicly funded household domestic service provided to a recipient, client, or beneficiary with a share of cost in that service.

(2)Employment in family daycare homes, as defined in subdivision (a) of Section 1596.78 of the Health and Safety Code.

(3)Individuals who, in their own residences, privately employ persons to perform for the benefit of such individuals what are commonly regarded as ordinary domestic household tasks, including housecleaning, cooking, and caregiving.

(c)(1) “Employment,” for purposes of this division only, also includes volunteer firefighting when covered by Division 4 (commencing with Section 3200) pursuant to Section 3361.

(2)This subdivision shall become operative on January 1, 2004.

(d)(1) The changes made to this section during the 2023–24 Regular Session of the Legislature shall become operative on July 1, 2025.

(2)The changes made to this section during the 2023–24 Regular Session of the Legislature do not change or otherwise modify the application of Sections 6310, 6311, and 6311.5 of this code or of Sections 3342 and 5199 of Title 8 of the California Code of Regulations.

§ 6303.5

Nothing in this division shall be construed to limit the jurisdiction of the state over any employmment or place of employment by reason of the exercise of occupational safety and health jurisdiction by any federal agency if federal jurisdiction is being exercised under a federal law which expressly authorizes concurrent state jurisdiction over occupational safety or health issues.

§ 6304

Amended by Stats. 1971, Ch. 1751.

“Employer” shall have the same meaning as in Section 3300.

§ 6304.1

Amended by Stats. 2002, Ch. 368, Sec. 2. Effective September 5, 2002.

(a)“Employee” means every person who is required or directed by any employer to engage in any employment or to go to work or be at any time in any place of employment.

(b)“Employee” also includes volunteer firefighters covered by Division 4 (commencing with Section 3200) pursuant to Section 3361.

(c)Subdivision (b) shall become operative on January 1, 2004.

(d)This act does not affect claims that arose pursuant to Division 5 of this code between January 1, 2002, and the effective date of this act.

§ 6304.2

Added by Stats. 1977, Ch. 1215.

Notwithstanding Section 6413, and except as provided in Sections 6304. 3 and 6304.4, any state prisoner engaged in correctional industry, as defined by the Department of Corrections, shall be deemed to be an “employee,” and the Department of Corrections shall be deemed to be an “employer,” with regard to such prisoners for the purposes of this part.

§ 6304.3

Amended by Stats. 1980, Ch. 676.

(a)A Correctional Industry Safety Committee shall be established in accordance with Department of Corrections administrative procedures at each facility maintaining a correctional industry, as defined by the Department of Corrections. The Division of Occupational Safety and Health shall promulgate, and the Department of Corrections shall implement, regulations concerning the duties and functions which shall govern the operation of each such committee.

(b)All complaints alleging unsafe or unhealthy working conditions in a correctional industry shall initially be directed to the Correctional Industry Safety Committee of the facility prison. The committee shall attempt to resolve all complaints.

If a complaint is not resolved by the committee within 15 calendar days, the complaint shall be referred by the committee to the division where it shall be reviewed. When the division receives a complaint which, in its determination, constitutes a bona fide allegation of a safety or health violation, the division shall summarily investigate the same as soon as possible, but not later than three working days after receipt of a complaint charging a serious violation, as defined in Section 6309, and not later than 14 calendar days after receipt of a complaint charging a nonserious violation.

(c)Except as provided in subdivision (b) and in Section 6313, the inspection or investigation of a facility maintaining a correctional industry, as defined by the Department of Corrections, shall be discretionary with the division.

(d)Notwithstanding Section 6321, the division may give advance notice of an inspection or investigation and may postpone the same if such action is necessary for the maintenance of security at the facility where the inspection or investigation is to be held, or for insuring the safety and health of the division’s representative who will be conducting such inspection or investigation.

§ 6304.4

Amended by Stats. 1983, Ch. 142, Sec. 111.

A prisoner engaged in correctional industry, as defined by the Department of Corrections, shall not be considered an employee for purposes of the provisions relating to appeal proceedings set forth in Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 6600).

§ 6304.5

Amended by Stats. 1999, Ch. 615, Sec. 2. Effective January 1, 2000.

It is the intent of the Legislature that the provisions of this division, and the occupational safety and health standards and orders promulgated under this code, are applicable to proceedings against employers for the exclusive purpose of maintaining and enforcing employee safety.

Neither the issuance of, or failure to issue, a citation by the division shall have any application to, nor be considered in, nor be admissible into, evidence in any personal injury or wrongful death action, except as between an employee and his or her own employer. Sections 452 and 669 of the Evidence Code shall apply to this division and to occupational safety and health standards adopted under this division in the same manner as any other statute, ordinance, or regulation. The testimony of employees of the division shall not be admissible as expert opinion or with respect to the application of occupational safety and health standards. It is the intent of the Legislature that the amendments to this section enacted in the 1999–2000 Regular Session shall not abrogate the holding in Brock v. State of California (1978) 8l Cal.App.3d 752.

§ 6305

Amended by Stats. 1981, Ch. 714, Sec. 319.

(a)“Occupational safety and health standards and orders” means standards and orders adopted by the standards board pursuant to Chapter 6 (commencing with Section 140) of Division 1 and general orders heretofore adopted by the Industrial Safety Board or the Industrial Accident Commission.

(b)“Special order” means any order written by the chief or the chief’s authorized representative to correct an unsafe condition, device, or place of employment which poses a threat to the health or safety of an employee and which cannot be made safe under existing standards or orders of the standards board. These orders shall have the same effect as any other standard or order of the standards board, but shall apply only to the employment or place of employment described in the written order of the chief’s authorized representative.

§ 6305.1

Added by Stats. 2021, Ch. 332, Sec. 1. (SB 321) Effective January 1, 2022.

(a)(1) The Chief of the Division of Occupational Safety and Health, or a representative of the chief, shall convene an advisory committee for the purposes of creating

voluntary guidance and making recommendations to the Department of Industrial Relations and the Legislature on policies the state may adopt to protect the health and safety of privately funded household domestic service employees.

(2)This section shall not apply to:

(A)Household domestic service that is publicly funded, including publicly funded household domestic service provided to a recipient, client, or beneficiary with a share of cost in that service, unless subject to Section 3342 or 5199 of Title 8 of the California Code of Regulations.

(B)Family daycare homes as defined in subdivision (a) of Section 1596.78 of the Health and Safety Code and subdivisions (d) and (f) of Section 1596.792 of the Health and Safety Code.

(b)The advisory committee shall be geographically and demographically diverse, shall include an equal number of representatives of domestic workers and employers, and shall be comprised of no fewer than 13 and no more than 18 individuals.

(c)The advisory committee shall include, but not be limited to, a representative from all of the following groups:

(1)Domestic work employees who have worked as a housecleaner in private homes for at least five years.

(2)Domestic work employees who have worked as a nanny in private homes for

at least five years.

(3)Domestic work employees who have worked as a caregiver or attendant in private homes for at least five years.

(4)Domestic work employees who have worked as a day laborer at private homes for at least five years. “Day laborer” includes, but is not limited to, exterior maintenance workers, gardeners, and landscapers.

(5)Domestic work employers who have employed housecleaners in their private homes for at least five years.

(6)Domestic work employers who have employed nannies in their private homes for at least five years.

(7)Domestic work employers who have employed caregivers or attendants in their private homes for at least five years.

(8)Domestic work employers who have employed a day laborer at their private homes for at least five years.

(9)A nonprofit organization with a minimum of five years of experience advocating for day laborers and connecting them with private household employers.

(10)A nonprofit organization with a minimum of five years of experience advocating on behalf of domestic work employees.

(11)A nonprofit organization with a minimum of five years of experience advocating on behalf of domestic work employers.

(d)The advisory committee shall include, but not be limited to, two experts in the prevention of work-related injury and illness most commonly suffered by domestic work employees.

(e)The Speaker of the Assembly and the Senate President pro Tempore may each appoint one individual to the advisory committee.

(f)The advisory committee shall develop voluntary industry-specific occupational health and safety guidance for the purpose of the following:

(1)Educating household domestic service employees on how, to the extent possible, they may identify and evaluate workplace hazards and prevent or minimize work-related injuries and illnesses.

(2)Educating household domestic service employers on how they

may create safer workplaces by identifying and evaluating workplace hazards and how to prevent or minimize work-related injuries and illnesses for their employees.

(g)The advisory committee shall make recommendations, in consultation with the divisions and entities within the Department of Industrial Relations, and applicable

state agencies and departments, on what additional policies may be adopted by the Department of Industrial Relations or the Legislature to

protect the health and safety of household domestic service employees. In making these recommendations, the advisory group shall consider the following:

(1)How to protect the privacy of individuals who employ domestic workers in their private residences in the context of future potential enforcement of health and safety standards, orders, and regulations, including applicability to

household domestic service employers of the existing civil monetary penalty structure for violations.

(2)Identifying and evaluating common workplace hazards specific to the industry.

(3)The scope and applicability of existing regulations to the industry.

(4)The need to develop industry-specific requirements.

(5)How to conduct training and outreach to employers and employees in the industry.

(h)The Division of Occupational Safety and Health shall release and publicly post the report of the advisory committee on its internet website and submit, in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government Code, a copy of the report to the appropriate policy committees of the Legislature no later than January 1, 2023.

§ 6306

Repealed and added by Stats. 1973, Ch. 993.

(a)“Safe,” “safety,” and “health” as applied to an employment or a place of employment mean such freedom from danger to the life, safety, or health of employees as the nature of the employment reasonably permits.

(b)“Safety device” and “safeguard” shall be given a broad interpretation so as to include any practicable method of mitigating or preventing a specific danger, including the danger of exposure to potentially injurious levels of ionizing radiation or potentially injurious quantities of radioactive materials.

§ 6307

Repealed and added by Stats. 1973, Ch. 993.

The division has the power, jurisdiction, and supervision over every employment and place of employment in this state, which is necessary adequately to enforce and administer all laws and lawful standards and orders, or special orders requiring such employment and place of employment to be safe, and requiring the protection of the life, safety, and health of every employee in such employment or place of employment.

§ 6307.1

Amended by Stats. 1980, Ch. 676.

The State Department of Health Services shall assist the division in the enforcement of Section 25910 of the Health and Safety Code in the manner prescribed by a written agreement between the State Department of Health Services and the Department of Industrial Relations, pursuant to Section 144.

§ 6308

Amended by Stats. 1984, Ch. 1138, Sec. 1.

The division, in enforcing occupational safety and health standards and orders and special orders may do any of the following:

(a)Declare and prescribe what safety devices, safeguards, or other means or methods of protection are well adapted to render the employees of every employment and place of employment safe as required by law or lawful order.

(b)Enforce Section 25910 of the Health and Safety Code and standards and orders adopted by the standards board pursuant to Chapter 6 (commencing with Section 140) of Division 1 of the Labor Code, for the installation, use, maintenance, and operation of reasonable uniform safety devices, safeguards, and other means or methods of protection, which are necessary to carry out all laws and lawful standards or special orders relative to the protection of the life and safety of employees in employments and places of employment.

(c)Require the performance of any other act which the protection of the life and safety of the employees in employments and places of employment reasonably demands.

An employer may request a hearing on a special order or action ordered pursuant to this section, at which the employer, owner, or any other person may appear. The appeals board shall conduct the hearing at the earliest possible time.

All orders, rules, regulations, findings, and decisions of the division made or entered under this part, except special orders and action orders, may be reviewed by the Supreme Court and the courts of appeal as may be provided by law.

§ 6308.5

Added by Stats. 1974, Ch. 1284.

Hearings conducted by the division pursuant to this part shall give any affected employer or other affected person the opportunity to submit facts or arguments, but may be conducted informally, either orally or in writing.

§ 6309

Amended by Stats. 2019, Ch. 200, Sec. 2. (AB 1805) Effective January 1, 2020.

(a)If the division learns or has reason to believe that an employment or place of employment is not safe or is injurious to the welfare of an employee, it may, on its own motion, or upon complaint, summarily investigate the employment or place of employment, with or without notice or hearings. However, if the division receives a complaint from an employee, an employee’s representative, including, but not limited to, an attorney, health or safety professional, union representative, or government agency representative, or an employer of an employee directly involved in an unsafe place of employment, that their employment or place of employment is not safe, it shall, with or without notice or hearing, summarily investigate the complaint as soon as

possible, but not later than three working days after receipt of a complaint charging a serious violation, and not later than 14 calendar days after receipt of a complaint charging a nonserious violation. The division shall attempt to determine the period of time in the future that the complainant believes the unsafe condition may continue to exist, and shall allocate inspection resources so as to respond first to those situations in which time is of the essence. For purposes of this section, a complaint is deemed to allege a serious violation if the division determines that the complaint charges that there is a realistic possibility that death or serious physical harm could result from the actual hazard created by a condition that exists, or from one or more practices, means, methods, operations, or processes that have been adopted or are in use in a place of employment. When a complaint charging

a serious violation is received from a state or local prosecutor, or a local law enforcement agency, the division shall summarily investigate the employment or place of employment within 24 hours of receipt of the complaint. All other complaints are deemed to allege nonserious violations. The division may enter and serve any necessary order relative thereto. The division is not required to respond to a complaint within this period where, from the facts stated in the complaint, it determines that the complaint is intended to willfully harass an employer or is without any reasonable basis.

(b)The division shall keep complete and accurate records of all complaints, whether verbal or written, and shall inform the complainant, whenever their identity is known, of any action taken by the division in regard to the subject matter of the complaint,

and the reasons for the action, within 14 calendar days of taking any action. The records of the division shall include the dates on which any action was taken on the complaint, or the reasons for not taking any action on the complaint. The division shall, pursuant to authorized regulations, conduct an informal review of any refusal by a representative of the division to issue a citation with respect to an alleged violation. The division shall furnish the employee or the representative of employees requesting the review a written statement of the reasons for the division’s final disposition of the case.

(c)The name of a person who submits to the division a complaint regarding the unsafe condition of an employment or place of employment shall be kept confidential by the division, unless that person requests otherwise.

(d)The division shall annually compile and release on its internet website data pertaining to complaints received and citations issued.

(e)The requirements of this section do not relieve the division of its requirement to inspect and assure that all places of employment are safe and healthful for employees. The division shall maintain the capability to receive and act upon complaints at all times. However, the division shall prioritize investigations of reports of accidents involving death or serious injury or illness and complaints that allege a serious violation over investigations of complaints that allege a nonserious violation.

§ 6310

Amended by Stats. 2020, Ch. 288, Sec. 1. (AB 2658) Effective January 1, 2021.

(a)No person shall discharge or in any manner discriminate against any employee because the employee has done any of the following:

(1)Made any oral or written complaint to the division, other governmental agencies having statutory responsibility for or assisting the division with reference to employee safety or health, their employer, or their representative.

(2)Instituted or caused to be instituted any proceeding under or relating to their rights or has testified or is about to testify in the proceeding or because of the exercise by the employee on behalf of themselves, or others of any rights afforded to them.

(3)Participated in an occupational health and safety committee established pursuant to Section 6401.7.

(4)Reported a work-related fatality, injury, or illness, requested access to occupational injury or illness reports and records that are made or maintained pursuant to Subchapter 1 (commencing with Section 14000) of Chapter 1 of Division 1 of Title 8 of the California Code of Regulations, or exercised any other rights protected by the federal Occupational Safety and Health Act (29 U.S.C. Sec. 651 et seq.), except in cases where the employee alleges they have been retaliated against because

they have filed or made known their intention to file a workers’ compensation claim pursuant to Section 132a, which is under the exclusive jurisdiction of the Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board.

(b)Any employee who is discharged, threatened with discharge, demoted, suspended, or in any other manner discriminated against in the terms and conditions of employment by their employer because the employee has made a bona fide oral or written complaint to the division, other governmental agencies having statutory responsibility for or assisting the division with reference to employee safety or health, their employer, or their representative, of unsafe working conditions, or work practices, in their employment or place of employment, or has participated in an employer-employee occupational health and safety committee, shall

be entitled to reinstatement and reimbursement for lost wages and work benefits caused by the acts of the employer. Any employer who willfully refuses to rehire, promote, or otherwise restore an employee or former employee who has been determined to be eligible for rehiring or promotion by a grievance procedure, arbitration, or hearing authorized by law, is guilty of a misdemeanor.

(c)An employer, or a person acting on behalf of the employer, shall not retaliate against an employee because the employee is a family member of a person who has, or is perceived to have, engaged in any acts protected by this section.

(d)For purposes of this section, “employer” or “a person acting on behalf of the employer” includes, but is not limited to, a client employer as defined in paragraph

(1)of subdivision (a) of Section 2810.3 and an employer listed in subdivision (b) of Section 6400.

(e)Notwithstanding Section 6303 or other law, as used in this section, “employee” includes a domestic work employee, except for a person who performs household domestic service that is publicly funded, including publicly funded household domestic service provided to a recipient, client, or beneficiary with a share of cost in that service.

§ 6311