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2005 California Labor Code Sections 6400-6413.5 EMPLOYEES
LABOR CODESECTION 6400-6413.5
6400. (a) Every employer shall furnish employment and a place of employment that is safe and healthful for the employees therein. (b) On multiemployer worksites, both construction and nonconstruction, citations may be issued only to the following categories of employers when the division has evidence that an employee was exposed to a hazard in violation of any requirement enforceable by the division: (1) The employer whose employees were exposed to the hazard (the exposing employer). (2) The employer who actually created the hazard (the creating employer). (3) The employer who was responsible, by contract or through actual practice, for safety and health conditions on the worksite, which is the employer who had the authority for ensuring that the hazardous condition is corrected (the controlling employer). (4) The employer who had the responsibility for actually correcting the hazard (the correcting employer). The employers listed in paragraphs (2) to (4), inclusive, of this subdivision may be cited regardless of whether their own employees were exposed to the hazard. (c) It is the intent of the Legislature, in adding subdivision (b) to this section, to codify existing regulations with respect to the responsibility of employers at multiemployer worksites. Subdivision (b) of this section is declaratory of existing law and shall not be construed or interpreted as creating a new law or as modifying or changing an existing law. 6401. Every employer shall furnish and use safety devices and safeguards, and shall adopt and use practices, means, methods, operations, and processes which are reasonably adequate to render such employment and place of employment safe and healthful. Every employer shall do every other thing reasonably necessary to protect the life, safety, and health of employees. 6401.5. No salvage of materials shall be permitted while demolition is in progress on any building, structure, falsework, or scaffold more than three stories high or the equivalent height for which a permit is required under subdivision (c) of Section 6500. For this purpose salvage does not include removal of material from premises solely for the purpose of clearing the area to facilitate the continuation of the demolition. 6401.7. (a) Every employer shall establish, implement, and maintain an effective injury prevention program. The program shall be written, except as provided in subdivision (e), and shall include, but not be limited to, the following elements: (1) Identification of the person or persons responsible for implementing the program. (2) The employer's system for identifying and evaluating workplace hazards, including scheduled periodic inspections to identify unsafe conditions and work practices. (3) The employer's methods and procedures for correcting unsafe or unhealthy conditions and work practices in a timely manner. (4) An occupational health and safety training program designed to instruct employees in general safe and healthy work practices and to provide specific instruction with respect to hazards specific to each employee's job assignment. (5) The employer's system for communicating with employees on occupational health and safety matters, including provisions designed to encourage employees to inform the employer of hazards at the worksite without fear of reprisal. (6) The employer's system for ensuring that employees comply with safe and healthy work practices, which may include disciplinary action. (b) The employer shall correct unsafe and unhealthy conditions and work practices in a timely manner based on the severity of the hazard. (c) The employer shall train all employees when the training program is first established, all new employees, and all employees given a new job assignment, and shall train employees whenever new substances, processes, procedures, or equipment are introduced to the workplace and represent a new hazard, and whenever the employer receives notification of a new or previously unrecognized hazard. Beginning January 1, 1994, an employer in the construction industry who is required to be licensed under Chapter 9 (commencing with Section 7000) of Division 3 of the Business and Professions Code may use employee training provided to the employer's employees under a construction industry occupational safety and health training program approved by the division to comply with the requirements of subdivision (a) relating to employee training, and shall only be required to provide training on hazards specific to an employee's job duties. (d) The employer shall keep appropriate records of steps taken to implement and maintain the program. Beginning January 1, 1994, an employer in the construction industry who is required to be licensed under Chapter 9 (commencing with Section 7000) of Division 3 of the Business and Professions Code may use records relating to employee training provided to the employer in connection with an occupational safety and health training program approved by the division to comply with the requirements of this subdivision, and shall only be required to keep records of those steps taken to implement and maintain the program with respect to hazards specific to an employee' s job duties. (e) (1) The standards board shall adopt a standard setting forth the employer's duties under this section, on or before January 1, 1991, consistent with the requirements specified in subdivisions (a), (b), (c), and (d). The standards board, in adopting the standard, shall include substantial compliance criteria for use in evaluating an employer's injury prevention program. The board may adopt less stringent criteria for employers with few employees and for employers in industries with insignificant occupational safety or health hazards. (2) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), for employers with fewer than 20 employees who are in industries that are not on a designated list of high hazard industries and who have a workers' compensation experience modification rate of 1.1 or less, and for any employers with fewer than 20 employees who are in industries that are on a designated list of low hazard industries, the board shall adopt a standard setting forth the employer's duties under this section consistent with the requirements specified in subdivisions (a), (b), and (c), except that the standard shall only require written documentation to the extent of documenting the person or persons responsible for implementing the program pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (a), keeping a record of periodic inspections pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (a), and keeping a record of employee training pursuant to paragraph (4) of subdivision (a). To any extent beyond the specifications of this subdivision, the standard shall not require the employer to keep the records specified in subdivision (d). (3) The division shall establish a list of high hazard industries using the methods prescribed in Section 6314.1 for identifying and targeting employers in high hazard industries. For purposes of this subdivision, the "designated list of high hazard industries" shall be the list established pursuant to this paragraph. For the purpose of implementing this subdivision, the Department of Industrial Relations shall periodically review, and as necessary revise, the list. (4) For the purpose of implementing this subdivision, the Department of Industrial Relations shall also establish a list of low hazard industries, and shall periodically review, and as necessary revise, that list. (f) The standard adopted pursuant to subdivision (e) shall specifically permit employer and employee occupational safety and health committees to be included in the employer's injury prevention program. The board shall establish criteria for use in evaluating employer and employee occupational safety and health committees. The criteria shall include minimum duties, including the following: (1) Review of the employer's (A) periodic, scheduled worksite inspections, (B) investigation of causes of incidents resulting in injury, illness, or exposure to hazardous substances, and (C) investigation of any alleged hazardous condition brought to the attention of any committee member. When determined necessary by the committee, the committee may conduct its own inspections and investigations. (2) Upon request from the division, verification of abatement action taken by the employer as specified in division citations. If an employer's occupational safety and health committee meets the criteria established by the board, it shall be presumed to be in substantial compliance with paragraph (5) of subdivision (a). (g) The division shall adopt regulations specifying the procedures for selecting employee representatives for employer-employee occupational health and safety committees when these procedures are not specified in an applicable collective bargaining agreement. No employee or employee organization shall be held liable for any act or omission in connection with a health and safety committee. (h) The employer's injury prevention program, as required by this section, shall cover all of the employer's employees and all other workers who the employer controls or directs and directly supervises on the job to the extent these workers are exposed to worksite and job assignment specific hazards. Nothing in this subdivision shall affect the obligations of a contractor or other employer that controls or directs and directly supervises its own employees on the job. (i) When a contractor supplies its employee to a state agency employer on a temporary basis, the state agency employer may assess a fee upon the contractor to reimburse the state agency for the additional costs, if any, of including the contract employee within the state agency's injury prevention program. (j) (1) The division shall prepare a Model Injury and Illness Prevention Program for Non-High-Hazard Employment, and shall make copies of the model program prepared pursuant to this subdivision available to employers, upon request, for posting in the workplace. An employer who adopts and implements the model program prepared by the division pursuant to this paragraph in good faith shall not be assessed a civil penalty for the first citation for a violation of this section issued after the employer's adoption and implementation of the model program. (2) For purposes of this subdivision, the division shall establish a list of non-high-hazard industries in California. These industries, identified by their Standard Industrial Classification Codes, as published by the United States Office of Management and Budget in the Manual of Standard Industrial Classification Codes, 1987 Edition, are apparel and accessory stores (Code 56), eating and drinking places (Code 58), miscellaneous retail (Code 59), finance, insurance, and real estate (Codes 60-67), personal services (Code 72), business services (Code 73), motion pictures (Code 78) except motion picture production and allied services (Code 781), legal services (Code 81), educational services (Code 82), social services (Code 83), museums, art galleries, and botanical and zoological gardens (Code 84), membership organizations (Code 86), engineering, accounting, research, management, and related services (Code 87), private households (Code 88), and miscellaneous services (Code 89). To further identify industries that may be included on the list, the division shall also consider data from a rating organization, as defined in Section 11750.1 of the Insurance Code, the Division of Labor Statistics and Research, and all other appropriate information. The list shall be established by June 30, 1994, and shall be reviewed, and as necessary revised, biennially. (3) The division shall prepare a Model Injury and Illness Prevention Program for Employers in Industries with Intermittent Employment, and shall determine which industries have historically utilized seasonal or intermittent employees. An employer in an industry determined by the division to have historically utilized seasonal or intermittent employees shall be deemed to have complied with the requirements of subdivision (a) with respect to a written injury prevention program if the employer adopts the model program prepared by the division pursuant to this paragraph and complies with any instructions relating thereto. (k) With respect to any county, city, city and county, or district, or any public or quasi-public corporation or public agency therein, including any public entity, other than a state agency, that is a member of, or created by, a joint powers agreement, subdivision (d) shall not apply. (l) Every workers' compensation insurer shall conduct a review, including a written report as specified below, of the injury and illness prevention program (IIPP) of each of its insureds with an experience modification of 2.0 or greater within six months of the commencement of the initial insurance policy term. The review shall determine whether the insured has implemented all of the required components of the IIPP, and evaluate their effectiveness. The training component of the IIPP shall be evaluated to determine whether training is provided to line employees, supervisors, and upper level management, and effectively imparts the information and skills each of these groups needs to ensure that all of the insured's specific health and safety issues are fully addressed by the insured. The reviewer shall prepare a detailed written report specifying the findings of the review and all recommended changes deemed necessary to make the IIPP effective. The reviewer shall be or work under the direction of a licensed California professional engineer, certified safety professional, or a certified industrial hygienist. 6402. No employer shall require, or permit any employee to go or be in any employment or place of employment which is not safe and healthful. 6403. No employer shall fail or neglect to do any of the following: (a) To provide and use safety devices and safeguards reasonably adequate to render the employment and place of employment safe. (b) To adopt and use methods and processes reasonably adequate to render the employment and place of employment safe. (c) To do every other thing reasonably necessary to protect the life, safety, and health of employees. 6404. No employer shall occupy or maintain any place of employment that is not safe and healthful. 6404.5. (a) The Legislature finds and declares that regulation of smoking in the workplace is a matter of statewide interest and concern. It is the intent of the Legislature in enacting this section to prohibit the smoking of tobacco products in all (100 percent of) enclosed places of employment in this state, as covered by this section, thereby eliminating the need of local governments to enact workplace smoking restrictions within their respective jurisdictions. It is further the intent of the Legislature to create a uniform statewide standard to restrict and prohibit the smoking of tobacco products in enclosed places of employment, as specified in this section, in order to reduce employee exposure to environmental tobacco smoke to a level that will prevent anything other than insignificantly harmful effects to exposed employees, and also to eliminate the confusion and hardship that can result from enactment or enforcement of disparate local workplace smoking restrictions. Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, it is the intent of the Legislature that any area not defined as a "place of employment" pursuant to subdivision (d) or in which the smoking of tobacco products is not regulated pursuant to subdivision (e) shall be subject to local regulation of smoking of tobacco products. (b) No employer shall knowingly or intentionally permit, and no person shall engage in, the smoking of tobacco products in an enclosed space at a place of employment. (c) For purposes of this section, an employer who permits any nonemployee access to his or her place of employment on a regular basis has not acted knowingly or intentionally if he or she has taken the following reasonable steps to prevent smoking by a nonemployee: (1) Posted clear and prominent signs, as follows: (A) Where smoking is prohibited throughout the building or structure, a sign stating "No smoking" shall be posted at each entrance to the building or structure. (B) Where smoking is permitted in designated areas of the building or structure, a sign stating "Smoking is prohibited except in designated areas" shall be posted at each entrance to the building or structure. (2) Has requested, when appropriate, that a nonemployee who is smoking refrain from smoking in the enclosed workplace. For purposes of this subdivision, "reasonable steps" does not include (A) the physical ejection of a nonemployee from the place of employment or (B) any requirement for making a request to a nonemployee to refrain from smoking, under circumstances involving a risk of physical harm to the employer or any employee. (d) For purposes of this section, "place of employment" does not include any of the following: (1) Sixty-five percent of the guest room accommodations in a hotel, motel, or similar transient lodging establishment. (2) Areas of the lobby in a hotel, motel, or other similar transient lodging establishment designated for smoking by the establishment. An establishment may permit smoking in a designated lobby area that does not exceed 25 percent of the total floor area of the lobby or, if the total area of the lobby is 2,000 square feet or less, that does not exceed 50 percent of the total floor area of the lobby. For purposes of this paragraph, "lobby" means the common public area of an establishment in which registration and other similar or related transactions, or both, are conducted and in which the establishment's guests and members of the public typically congregate. (3) Meeting and banquet rooms in a hotel, motel, other transient lodging establishment similar to a hotel or motel, restaurant, or public convention center, except while food or beverage functions are taking place, including setup, service, and cleanup activities, or when the room is being used for exhibit purposes. At times when smoking is not permitted in a meeting or banquet room pursuant to this paragraph, the establishment may permit smoking in corridors and prefunction areas adjacent to and serving the meeting or banquet room if no employee is stationed in that corridor or area on other than a passing basis. (4) Retail or wholesale tobacco shops and private smokers' lounges. For purposes of this paragraph: (A) "Private smokers' lounge" means any enclosed area in or attached to a retail or wholesale tobacco shop that is dedicated to the use of tobacco products, including, but not limited to, cigars and pipes. (B) "Retail or wholesale tobacco shop" means any business establishment the main purpose of which is the sale of tobacco products, including, but not limited to, cigars, pipe tobacco, and smoking accessories. (5) Cabs of motortrucks, as defined in Section 410 of the Vehicle Code, or truck tractors, as defined in Section 655 of the Vehicle Code, if no nonsmoking employees are present. (6) Warehouse facilities. For purposes of this paragraph, "warehouse facility" means a warehouse facility with more than 100,000 square feet of total floor space, and 20 or fewer full-time employees working at the facility, but does not include any area within a facility that is utilized as office space. (7) Gaming clubs, in which smoking is permitted by subdivision (f). For purposes of this paragraph, "gaming club" means any gaming club, as defined in Section 19802 of the Business and Professions Code, or bingo facility, as defined in Section 326.5 of the Penal Code, that restricts access to minors under 18 years of age. (8) Bars and taverns, in which smoking is permitted by subdivision (f). For purposes of this paragraph, "bar" or "tavern" means a facility primarily devoted to the serving of alcoholic beverages for consumption by guests on the premises, in which the serving of food is incidental. "Bar or tavern" includes those facilities located within a hotel, motel, or other similar transient occupancy establishment. However, when located within a building in conjunction with another use, including a restaurant, "bar" or "tavern" includes only those areas used primarily for the sale and service of alcoholic beverages. "Bar" or "tavern" does not include the dining areas of a restaurant, regardless of whether alcoholic beverages are served therein. (9) Theatrical production sites, if smoking is an integral part of the story in the theatrical production. (10) Medical research or treatment sites, if smoking is integral to the research and treatment being conducted. (11) Private residences, except for private residences licensed as family day care homes, during the hours of operation as family day care homes and in those areas where children are present. (12) Patient smoking areas in long-term health care facilities, as defined in Section 1418 of the Health and Safety Code. (13) Breakrooms designated by employers for smoking, provided that all of the following conditions are met: (A) Air from the smoking room shall be exhausted directly to the outside by an exhaust fan. Air from the smoking room shall not be recirculated to other parts of the building. (B) The employer shall comply with any ventilation standard or other standard utilizing appropriate technology, including, but not limited to, mechanical, electronic, and biotechnical systems, adopted by the Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board or the federal Environmental Protection Agency. If both adopt inconsistent standards, the ventilation standards of the Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board shall be no less stringent than the standards adopted by the federal Environmental Protection Agency. (C) The smoking room shall be located in a nonwork area where no one, as part of his or her work responsibilities, is required to enter. For purposes of this paragraph, "work responsibilities" does not include any custodial or maintenance work carried out in the breakroom when it is unoccupied. (D) There are sufficient nonsmoking breakrooms to accommodate nonsmokers. (14) Employers with a total of five or fewer employees, either full-time or part-time, may permit smoking where all of the following conditions are met: (A) The smoking area is not accessible to minors. (B) All employees who enter the smoking area consent to permit smoking. No one, as part of his or her work responsibilities, shall be required to work in an area where smoking is permitted. An employer who is determined by the division to have used coercion to obtain consent or who has required an employee to work in the smoking area shall be subject to the penalty provisions of Section 6427. (C) Air from the smoking area shall be exhausted directly to the outside by an exhaust fan. Air from the smoking area shall not be recirculated to other parts of the building. (D) The employer shall comply with any ventilation standard or other standard utilizing appropriate technology, including, but not limited to, mechanical, electronic, and biotechnical systems, adopted by the Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board or the federal Environmental Protection Agency. If both adopt inconsistent standards, the ventilation standards of the Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board shall be no less stringent than the standards adopted by the federal Environmental Protection Agency. This paragraph shall not be construed to (i) supersede or render inapplicable any condition or limitation on smoking areas made applicable to specific types of business establishments by any other paragraph of this subdivision or (ii) apply in lieu of any otherwise applicable paragraph of this subdivision that has become inoperative. (e) Paragraphs (13) and (14) of subdivision (d) shall not be construed to require employers to provide reasonable accommodation to smokers, or to provide breakrooms for smokers or nonsmokers. (f) (1) Except as otherwise provided in this subdivision, smoking may be permitted in gaming clubs, as defined in paragraph (7) of subdivision (d), and in bars and taverns, as defined in paragraph (8) of subdivision (d), until the earlier of the following: (A) January 1, 1998. (B) The date of adoption of a regulation (i) by the Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board reducing the permissible employee exposure level to environmental tobacco smoke to a level that will prevent anything other than insignificantly harmful effects to exposed employees or (ii) by the federal Environmental Protection Agency establishing a standard for reduction of permissible exposure to environmental tobacco smoke to an exposure level that will prevent anything other than insignificantly harmful effects to exposed persons. (2) If a regulation specified in subparagraph (B) of paragraph (1) is adopted on or before January 1, 1998, smoking may thereafter be permitted in gaming clubs and in bars and taverns, subject to full compliance with, or conformity to, the standard in the regulation within two years following the date of adoption of the regulation. An employer failing to achieve compliance with, or conformity to, the regulation within this two-year period shall prohibit smoking in the gaming club, bar, or tavern until compliance or conformity is achieved. If the Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board and the federal Environmental Protection Agency both adopt regulations specified in subparagraph (B) of paragraph (1) that are inconsistent, the regulations of the Occupational Safety Standards Board shall be no less stringent than the regulations of the federal Environmental Protection Agency. (3) If a regulation specified in subparagraph (B) of paragraph (1) is not adopted on or before January 1, 1998, the exemptions specified in paragraphs (7) and (8) of subdivision (d) shall be inoperative on and after January 1, 1998, until a regulation is adopted. Upon adoption of such a regulation on or after January 1, 1998, smoking may thereafter be permitted in gaming clubs and in bars and taverns, subject to full compliance with, or conformity to, the standard in the regulation within two years following the date of adoption of the regulation. An employer failing to achieve compliance with, or conformity to, the regulation within this two-year period shall prohibit smoking in the gaming club, bar, or tavern until compliance or conformity is achieved. If the Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board and the federal Environmental Protection Agency both adopt regulations specified in subparagraph (B) of paragraph (1) that are inconsistent, the regulations of the Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board shall be no less stringent than the regulations of the federal Environmental Protection Agency. (4) From January 1, 1997, to December 31, 1997, inclusive, smoking may be permitted in gaming clubs, as defined in paragraph (7) of subdivision (d), and in bars and taverns, as defined in paragraph (8) of subdivision (d), subject to both of the following conditions: (A) If practicable, the gaming club or bar or tavern shall establish a designated nonsmoking area. (B) If feasible, no employee shall be required, in the performance of ordinary work responsibilities, to enter any area in which smoking is permitted. (g) The smoking prohibition set forth in this section shall constitute a uniform statewide standard for regulating the smoking of tobacco products in enclosed places of employment and shall supersede and render unnecessary the local enactment or enforcement of local ordinances regulating the smoking of tobacco products in enclosed places of employment. Insofar as the smoking prohibition set forth in this section is applicable to all (100 percent of) places of employment within this state and, therefore, provides the maximum degree of coverage, the practical effect of this section is to eliminate the need of local governments to enact enclosed workplace smoking restrictions within their respective jurisdictions. (h) Nothing in this section shall prohibit an employer from prohibiting smoking in an enclosed place of employment for any reason. (i) The enactment of local regulation of smoking of tobacco products in enclosed places of employment by local governments shall be suspended only for as long as, and to the extent that, the (100 percent) smoking prohibition provided for in this section remains in effect. In the event this section is repealed or modified by subsequent legislative or judicial action so that the (100 percent) smoking prohibition is no longer applicable to all enclosed places of employment in California, local governments shall have the full right and authority to enforce previously enacted, and to enact and enforce new, restrictions on the smoking of tobacco products in enclosed places of employment within their jurisdictions, including a complete prohibition of smoking. Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, any area not defined as a "place of employment" or in which the smoking is not regulated pursuant to subdivision (d) or (e), shall be subject to local regulation of smoking of tobacco products. (j) Any violation of the prohibition set forth in subdivision (b) is an infraction, punishable by a fine not to exceed one hundred dollars ($100) for a first violation, two hundred dollars ($200) for a second violation within one year, and five hundred dollars ($500) for a third and for each subsequent violation within one year. This subdivision shall be enforced by local law enforcement agencies including, but not limited to, local health departments, as determined by the local governing body. (k) Notwithstanding Section 6309, the division shall not be required to respond to any complaint regarding the smoking of tobacco products in an enclosed space at a place of employment, unless the employer has been found guilty pursuant to subdivision (j) of a third violation of subdivision (b) within the previous year. (l) If any provision of this act or the application thereof to any person or circumstances is held invalid, that invalidity shall not affect other provisions or applications of the act that can be given effect without the invalid provision of application, and to this end the provisions of this act are severable. 6405. No employer, owner, or lessee of any real property shall construct or cause to be constructed any place of employment that is not safe and healthful. 6406. No person shall do any of the following: (a) Remove, displace, damage, destroy or carry off any safety device, safeguard, notice, or warning, furnished for use in any employment or place of employment. (b) Interfere in any way with the use thereof by any other person. (c) Interfere with the use of any method or process adopted for the protection of any employee, including himself, in such employment, or place of employment. (d) Fail or neglect to do every other thing reasonably necessary to protect the life, safety, and health of employees. 6407. Every employer and every employee shall comply with occupational safety and health standards, with Section 25910 of the Health and Safety Code, and with all rules, regulations, and orders pursuant to this division which are applicable to his own actions and conduct. 6408. All employers shall provide information to employees in the following ways, as prescribed by authorized regulations: (a) Posting of information regarding protections and obligations of employees under occupational safety and health laws. (b) Posting prominently each citation issued under Section 6317, or a copy or copies thereof, at or near each place a violation referred to in the notice of violation occurred. (c) The opportunity for employees or their representatives to observe monitoring or measuring of employee exposure to hazards conducted pursuant to standards promulgated under Section 142.3. (d) Allow access by employees or their representatives to accurate records of employee exposures to potentially toxic materials or harmful physical agents. (e) Notification of any employee who has been or is being exposed to toxic materials or harmful physical agents in concentrations or at levels exceeding those prescribed by an applicable standard, order, or special order, and informing any employee so exposed of corrective action being taken. 6409. (a) Every physician as defined in Section 3209.3 who attends any injured employee shall file a complete report of every occupational injury or occupational illness to the employee with the employer, or if insured, with the employer's insurer, on forms prescribed for that purpose by the Division of Labor Statistics and Research. A portion of the form shall be completed by the injured employee, if he or she is able to do so, describing how the injury or illness occurred. The form shall be filed within five days of the initial examination. Inability or failure of an injured employee to complete his or her portion of the form shall not affect the employee' s rights under this code, and shall not excuse any delay in filing the form. The employer or insurer, as the case may be, shall file the physician's report with the Department of Industrial Relations, through its Division of Labor Statistics and Research, within five days of receipt. Each report of occupational injury or occupational illness shall indicate the social security number of the injured employee. If the treatment is for pesticide poisoning or a condition suspected to be pesticide poisoning, the physician shall also file a complete report, which need not include the affidavit required pursuant to this section, with the Division of Labor Statistics and Research, and within 24 hours of the initial examination shall file a complete report with the local health officer by facsimile transmission or other means. If the treatment is for pesticide poisoning or a condition suspected to be pesticide poisoning, the physician shall not be compensated for the initial diagnosis and treatment unless the report is filed with the employer, or if insured, with the employer's insurer, and includes or is accompanied by a signed affidavit which certifies that a copy of the report was filed with the local health officer pursuant to the requirements of this section. (b) As used in this section, "occupational illness" means any abnormal condition or disorder caused by exposure to environmental factors associated with employment, including acute and chronic illnesses or diseases which may be caused by inhalation, absorption, ingestion, or direct contact. 6409.1. (a) Every employer shall file a complete report of every occupational injury or occupational illness, as defined in subdivision (b) of Section 6409, to each employee which results in lost time beyond the date of the injury or illness, or which requires medical treatment beyond first aid, with the Department of Industrial Relations, through its Division of Labor Statistics and Research or, if an insured employer, with the insurer, on a form prescribed for that purpose by the Division of Labor Statistics and Research. A report shall be filed concerning each injury and illness which has, or is alleged to have, arisen out of and in the course of employment, within five days after the employer obtains knowledge of the injury or illness. Each report of occupational injury or occupational illness shall indicate the social security number of the injured employee. In the case of an insured employer, the insurer shall file with the division immediately upon receipt, a copy of the employer's report, which has been received from the insured employer. In the event an employer has filed a report of injury or illness pursuant to this subdivision and the employee subsequently dies as a result of the reported injury or illness, the employer shall file an amended report indicating the death with the Department of Industrial Relations, through its Division of Labor Statistics and Research or, if an insured employer, with the insurer, within five days after the employer is notified or learns of the death. A copy of any amended reports received by the insurer shall be filed with the division immediately upon receipt. (b) In every case involving a serious injury or illness, or death, in addition to the report required by subdivision (a), a report shall be made immediately by the employer to the Division of Occupational Safety and Health by telephone or telegraph. An employer who violates this subdivision may be assessed a civil penalty of not less than five thousand dollars ($5,000). Nothing in this subdivision shall be construed to increase the maximum civil penalty, pursuant to Sections 6427 to 6430, inclusive, that may be imposed for a violation of this section. 6409.2. Whenever a state, county, or local fire or police agency is called to an accident involving an employee covered by this part in which a serious injury or illness, or death occurs, the responding agency shall immediately notify the nearest office of the Division of Occupational Safety and Health by telephone. Thereafter, the division shall immediately notify the appropriate prosecuting authority of the accident. 6409.3. In no case shall the treatment administered for pesticide poisoning or a condition suspected as pesticide poisoning be deemed to be first aid treatment. 6409.5. (a) Whenever any local public fire agency has knowledge that a place of employment where garment manufacturing operations take place contains fire or safety hazards for which fire and injury prevention measures have not been taken in accordance with local fire and life safety ordinances, the agency may notify the Division of Occupational Safety and Health. This referral shall be made only after the garment manufacturing employer has been given a reasonable amount of time to correct violations. (b) Whenever the Division of Occupational Safety and Health has knowledge or reasonable suspicion that a place of employment where garment manufacturing operations take place contains fire or safety hazards for which fire and injury prevention measures have not been taken in accordance with local fire and life safety ordinances, the division shall notify the appropriate local public fire agency. (c) Whenever the Division of Occupational Safety and Health receives a referral by a local public fire agency pursuant to subdivision (a) which informs the division that a place of employment where garment manufacturing operations take place is not safe or is injurious to the welfare of any employee, it shall constitute a complaint for purposes of Section 6309 and shall be investigated. (d) Whenever a local public fire agency receives a referral by the Division of Occupational Safety and Health pursuant to subdivision (b) which informs the local public fire agency that a place of employment where garment manufacturing operations take place is not safe or is injurious to the welfare of any employee, the local public fire agency may investigate the referral at its discretion. (e) (1) If the Division of Occupational Safety and Health acquires knowledge that the garment manufacturing employer is not currently registered, it shall notify the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement. (2) Local public fire agencies may make referrals of individuals not registered as garment manufacturers to the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement. (3) Whenever the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement is informed by the Division of Occupational Safety and Health or by a local public fire agency that a garment manufacturing employer is unregistered, the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement shall take measures it deems appropriate to obtain compliance. 6410. The reports required by subdivision (a) of Section 6409, subdivision (a) of Section 6409.1, and Section 6413 shall be made in the form and detail and within the time limits prescribed by reasonable rules and regulations adopted by the Division of Labor Statistics and Research in accordance with Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code. Nothing in this chapter requiring recordkeeping and reporting by employers shall relieve the employer of maintaining records and making reports to the assistant secretary, United States Department of Labor, as required under the Federal Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (P.L. 91-596). The Division of Labor Statistics and Research shall prescribe and provide the forms necessary for maintenance of the required records, and the Division of Occupational Safety and Health shall enforce by citation and penalty assessment any violation of the recordkeeping requirements of this chapter. All state and local government employers shall maintain records and make reports in the same manner and to the same extent as required of other employers by this section. 6410.5. The reports required by subdivision (a) of Section 6409, subdivision (a) of Section 6409.1, and Section 6413 shall contain, prominently stated, the statement set forth in Section 5401.7. 6411. Every employer or insurer receiving forms with directions from the Division of Labor Statistics and Research to complete them shall cause them to be properly filled out so as to answer fully and correctly each question propounded therein. In case of inability to answer any such questions, a good and sufficient reason shall be given for such failure. 6412. No report of injury or illness required by subdivision (a) of Section 6409.1 shall be open to public inspection or made public, nor shall those reports be admissible as evidence in any adversary proceeding before the Workers' Compensation Appeals Board. However, the reports required of physicians by subdivision (a) of Section 6409 shall be admissible as evidence in the proceeding, except that no physician's report shall be admissible as evidence to bar proceedings for the collection of compensation, and the portion of any physician' s report completed by an employee shall not be admissible as evidence in any proceeding before the Workers' Compensation Appeals Board. 6413. (a) The Department of Corrections, and every physician or surgeon who attends any injured state prisoner, shall file with the Division of Labor Statistics and Research a complete report, on forms prescribed under Sections 6409 and 6409.1, of every injury to each state prisoner, resulting from any labor performed by the prisoner unless disability resulting from such injury does not last through the day or does not require medical service other than ordinary first aid treatment. (b) Where the injury results in death a report, in addition to the report required by subdivision (a), shall forthwith be made by the Department of Corrections to the Division of Labor Statistics and Research by telephone or telegraph. (c) Except as provided in Section 6304.2, nothing in this section or in this code shall be deemed to make a prisoner an employee, for any purpose, of the Department of Corrections. (d) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), no physician or surgeon who attends any injured state prisoner outside of a Department of Corrections institution shall be required to file the report required by subdivision (a), but the Department of Corrections shall file the report. 6413.2. (a) The Division of Labor Statistics and Research shall, within five working days of their receipt, transmit to the Division of Occupational Safety and Health copies of all reports received by the Division of Labor Statistics and Research pursuant to Section 6413. (b) With regard to any report required by Section 6413, the Division of Occupational Safety and Health may make recommendations to the Department of Corrections of ways in which the department might improve the safety of the working conditions and work areas of state prisoners, and other safety matters. The Department of Corrections shall not be required to comply with these recommendations. (c) With regard to any report required by Section 6413, the Division of Occupational Safety and Health may, in any case in which the Department of Corrections has not complied with recommendations made by the division pursuant to subdivision (b), or in any other case in which the division deems the safety of any state prisoner shall require it, conduct hearings and, after these hearings, adopt special orders, rules, or regulations or otherwise proceed as authorized in Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 6300) of this part as it deems necessary. The Department of Corrections shall comply with any order, rule, or regulation so adopted by the Division of Occupational Safety and Health. 6413.5. Any employer or physician who fails to comply with any provision of subdivision (a) of Section 6409, or Section 6409.1, 6409.2, 6409.3, or 6410 may be assessed a civil penalty of not less than fifty dollars ($50) nor more than two hundred dollars ($200) by the director or his or her designee if he or she finds a pattern or practice of violations, or a willful violation of any of these provisions. Penalty assessments may be contested in the manner provided in Section 3725. Penalties assessed pursuant to this section shall be deposited in the General Fund.
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