Workplace Safety in California: Riding the Coming Wave of Cal/OSHA Inspections and Citations

Welcome to Dirty Steel-Toe Boots, a podcast for employers about OSHA enforcement. In this episode, Phillip Russell and Eric Hobbs discuss the structure of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the agency’s new leadership, including in Washington, D.C., and the regional and area offices. The speakers emphasize the importance of building relationships with OSHA leadership and area offices and address the impact of the Biden administration’s new enforcement priorities.

In the second episode of our “Tech-Tuned Workplace” series, Jennifer Betts, Ruthie Goodboe, and Zeb Curtin (Senior Labor & Employment Lawyer and Team Lead at Cargill) discuss artificial intelligence in the workplace. They provide examples of how AI is currently affecting the workplace, potential future uses of AI in the workplace, and the legal implications for employers including the potential for bias.

In this podcast, Frank Davis, John Surma, and David Walston, members of Ogletree’s Workplace Safety and Health Practice Group, discuss the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) Site-Specific Targeting (SST) program whereby the agency randomly selects employers for “wall-to-wall, floor to ceiling” inspections without identifying an accident or hazard. The speakers review data indicating that OSHA inspections, citations, and penalties are on the rise, and offer insights into the reasons for the increase, particularly in Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Alabama.