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