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2007 California Labor Code Chapter 4. Penalties
CA Codes (lab:6423-6436)
LABOR CODESECTION 6423-6436
6423. (a) Except where another penalty is specifically provided, every employer and every officer, management official, or supervisor having direction, management, control, or custody of any employment, place of employment, or of any other employee, who does any of the following is guilty of a misdemeanor: (1) Knowingly or negligently violates any standard, order, or special order, or any provision of this division, or of any part thereof in, or authorized by, this part the violation of which is deemed to be a serious violation pursuant to Section 6432. (2) Repeatedly violates any standard, order, or special order, or provision of this division, or any part thereof in, or authorized by, this part, which repeated violation creates a real and apparent hazard to employees. (3) Knowingly fails to report to the division a death, as required by subdivision (b) of Section 6409.1. (4) Fails or refuses to comply, after notification and expiration of any abatement period, with any such standard, order, special order, or provision of this division, or any part thereof, which failure or refusal creates a real and apparent hazard to employees. (5) Directly or indirectly, knowingly induces another to commit any of the acts in paragraph (1), (2), (3), or (4) of subdivision (a). (b) Any violation of paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) is punishable by imprisonment in the county jail for a period not to exceed six months, or by a fine not to exceed five thousand dollars (,000), or by both that imprisonment and fine. (c) Any violation of paragraph (3) of subdivision (a) is punishable by imprisonment in county jail for up to one year, or by a fine not to exceed fifteen thousand dollars (,000), or by both that imprisonment and fine. If the violator is a corporation or a limited liability company, the fine prescribed by this subdivision may not exceed one hundred fifty thousand dollars (0,000). (d) Any violation of paragraph (2), (4), or (5) of subdivision (a) is punishable by imprisonment in a county jail for a term not exceeding one year, or by a fine not exceeding fifteen thousand dollars (,000), or by both that imprisonment and fine. If the defendant is a corporation or a limited liability company, the fine may not exceed one hundred fifty thousand dollars (0,000). (e) In determining the amount of fine to impose under this section, the court shall consider all relevant circumstances, including, but not limited to, the nature, circumstance, extent, and gravity of the violation, any prior history of violations by the defendant, the ability of the defendant to pay, and any other matters the court determines the interests of justice require. 6425. (a) Any employer and any employee having direction, management, control, or custody of any employment, place of employment, or of any other employee, who willfully violates any occupational safety or health standard, order, or special order, or Section 25910 of the Health and Safety Code, and that violation caused death to any employee, or caused permanent or prolonged impairment of the body of any employee, is guilty of a public offense punishable by imprisonment in a county jail for a term not exceeding one year, or by a fine not exceeding one hundred thousand dollars (0,000), or by both that imprisonment and fine; or by imprisonment in the state prison for 16 months, or two or three years, or by a fine of not more than two hundred fifty thousand dollars (0,000), or by both that imprisonment and fine; and in either case, if the defendant is a corporation or a limited liability company, the fine may not exceed one million five hundred thousand dollars (,500,000). (b) If the conviction is for a violation committed within seven years after a conviction under subdivision (b), (c), or (d) of Section 6423 or subdivision (c) of Section 6430, punishment shall be by imprisonment in state prison for a term of 16 months, two, or three years, or by a fine not exceeding two hundred fifty thousand dollars (0,000), or by both that fine and imprisonment, but if the defendant is a corporation or limited liability company, the fine may not be less than five hundred thousand dollars (0,000) or more than two million five hundred thousand dollars (,500,000). (c) If the conviction is for a violation committed within seven years after a first conviction of the defendent for any crime involving a violation of subdivision (a), punishment shall be by imprisonment in the state prison for two, three, or four years, or by a fine not exceeding two hundred fifty thousand dollars (0,000), or by both that fine and imprisonment, but if the defendant is a corporation or a limited liability company, the fine shall not be less than one million dollars (,000,000) but may not exceed three million five hundred thousand dollars (,500,000). (d) In determining the amount of fine to be imposed under this section, the court shall consider all relevant circumstances, including, but not limited to, the nature, circumstance, extent, and gravity of the violation, any prior history of violations by the defendant, the ability of the defendant to pay, and any other matters the court determines the interests of justice require. (e) As used in this section, "willfully" has the same definition as it has in Section 7 of the Penal Code. This subdivision is intended to be a codification of existing law. (f) This section does not prohibit a prosecution under Section 192 of the Penal Code. 6426. Whoever knowingly makes any false statement, representation, or certification in any application, record, report, plan, or other document filed or required to be maintained pursuant to this division shall, upon conviction, be punished by a fine of not more than seventy thousand dollars (,000), or by imprisonment for not more than six months, or by both. 6427. Any employer who violates any occupational safety or health standard, order, or special order, or Section 25910 of the Health and Safety Code, and the violation is specifically determined not to be of a serious nature, may be assessed a civil penalty of up to seven thousand dollars (,000) for each violation. 6428. Any employer who violates any occupational safety or health standard, order, or special order, or Section 25910 of the Health and Safety Code, if that violation is a serious violation, shall be assessed a civil penalty of up to twenty-five thousand dollars (,000) for each violation. Employers who do not have an operative injury prevention program shall receive no adjustment for good faith of the employer or history of previous violations as provided in paragraphs (3) and (4) of subdivision (c) of Section 6319. 6428.5. An employer's injury prevention program shall be deemed to be operative for the purposes of Sections 6427 and 6428 if it meets the criteria for substantial compliance established by the standards board pursuant to Section 6401.7. 6429. (a) Any employer who willfully or repeatedly violates any occupational safety or health standard, order, or special order, or Section 25910 of the Health and Safety Code, may be assessed a civil penalty of not more than seventy thousand dollars (,000) for each violation, but in no case less than five thousand dollars (,000) for each willful violation. (b) Any employer who repeatedly violates any occupational safety or health standard, order, or special order, or Section 25910 of the Health and Safety Code, shall not receive any adjustment of a penalty assessed pursuant to this section on the basis of the regulations promulgated pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 6319 pertaining to the good faith of the employer or the history of previous violations of the employer. (c) The division shall preserve and maintain records of its investigations and inspections and citations for a period of not less than seven years. 6430. (a) Any employer who fails to correct a violation of any occupational safety or health standard, order, or special order, or Section 25910 of the Health and Safety Code, within the period permitted for its correction shall be assessed a civil penalty of not more than fifteen thousand dollars (,000) for each day during which the failure or violation continues. (b) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), for any employer who submits a signed statement affirming compliance with the abatement terms pursuant to Section 6320, and is found upon a reinspection not to have abated the violation, any adjustment to the civil penalty based on abatement shall be rescinded and the additional civil penalty assessed for failure to abate shall not be adjusted for good faith of the employer or history of previous violations as provided in paragraphs (3) and (4) of subdivision (c) of Section 6319. (c) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), any employer who submits a signed statement affirming compliance with the abatement terms pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 6320, and is found not to have abated the violation, is guilty of a public offense punishable by imprisonment in a county jail for a term not exceeding one year, or by a fine not exceeding thirty thousand dollars (,000), or by both that fine and imprisonment; but if the defendant is a corporation or a limited liability company the fine shall not exceed three hundred thousand dollars (0,000). In determining the amount of the fine to be imposed under this section, the court shall consider all relevant circumstances, including, but not limited to, the nature, circumstance, extent, and gravity of the violation, any prior history of violations by the defendant, the ability of the defendant to pay, and any other matters the court determines the interests of justice require. Nothing in this section shall be construed to prevent prosecution under any law that may apply. 6431. Any employer who violates any of the posting or recordkeeping requirements as prescribed by regulations adopted pursuant to Sections 6408 and 6410, or who fails to post any notice required by Section 3550, shall be assessed a civil penalty of up to seven thousand dollars (,000) for each violation. 6432. (a) As used in this part, a "serious violation" shall be deemed to exist in a place of employment if there is a substantial probability that death or serious physical harm could result from a violation, including, but not limited to, circumstances where there is a substantial probability that either of the following could result in death or great bodily injury: (1) A serious exposure exceeding an established permissible exposure limit. (2) The existence of one or more practices, means, methods, operations, or processes which have been adopted or are in use, in the place of employment. (b) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), a serious violation shall not be deemed to exist if the employer can demonstrate that it did not, and could not with the exercise of reasonable diligence, know of the presence of the violation. (c) As used in this section, "substantial probability" refers not to the probability that an accident or exposure will occur as a result of the violation, but rather to the probability that death or serious physical harm will result assuming an accident or exposure occurs as a result of the violation. 6433. The civil penalties set forth in Sections 6427 to 6431, inclusive, shall not be considered as other penalties specifically provided within the meaning of Section 6423. 6434. (a) Any civil or administrative penalty assessed pursuant to this chapter against a school district, county board of education, county superintendent of schools, charter school, community college district, California State University, University of California, or joint powers agency performing education functions shall be deposited with the Workplace Health and Safety Revolving Fund established pursuant to Section 78. (b) Any school district, county board of education, county superintendent of schools, charter school, community college district, California State University, University of California, or joint powers agency performing education functions may apply for a refund of their civil penalty, with interest, if all conditions previously cited have been abated, they have abated any other outstanding citation, and if they have not been cited by the division for a serious violation at the same school within two years of the date of the original violation. Funds not applied for within two years and six months of the time of the original violation shall be expended as provided for in Section 78 to assist schools in establishing effective occupational injury and illness prevention programs. 6434.5. (a) Any civil or administrative penalty assessed pursuant to this chapter against a public police or city, county, or special district fire department or the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection shall be deposited into the Workers' Compensation Administration Revolving Fund established pursuant to Section 62.5. (b) Any public police or city, county, or special district fire department or the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection may apply for a refund of any civil or administrative penalty assessed pursuant to this chapter, with interest, if all conditions previously cited have been abated, the department has abated any other outstanding citation, and the department has not been cited by the division for a serious violation within two years of the date of the original violation. Funds received as a result of a penalty, for which a refund is not applied for within two years and six months of the time of the original violation, shall be expended in accordance with Section 78 as follows: (1) Funds received as a result of a civil or administrative penalty imposed on a city, county, or special district fire department or the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection shall be allocated to the California Firefighter Joint Apprenticeship Program for the purpose of establishing and maintaining effective occupational injury and illness prevention programs. (2) Funds received as a result of a civil or administrative penalty imposed on a police department shall be allocated to the Office of Criminal Justice Planning, or any succeeding agency, for the purpose of establishing and maintaining effective occupational injury and illness prevention programs. (c) This section does not apply to that portion of any civil or administrative penalty that is distributed directly to an aggrieved employee or employees pursuant to the provisions of Section 2699. 6435. (a) Any employer who violates any of the requirements of Chapter 6 (commencing with Section 6500) of this part shall be assessed a civil penalty under the appropriate provisions of Sections 6427 to 6430, inclusive. (b) This section shall become inoperative on January 1, 1987, and shall remain inoperative until January 1, 1991, at which time it shall become operative, unless a later enacted statute, which becomes effective on or before January 1, 1991, deletes or extends that date. 6436. The criminal complaint regarding a violation of Section 6505.5 may be brought by the Attorney General or by the district attorney or prosecuting attorney of any city, in the superior court of any county in the state with jurisdiction over the contractor or employer, by reason of the contractor's or employer's act or failure to act within that county. Any penalty assessed by the court shall be paid to the office of the prosecutor bringing the complaint, but if the case was referred to the prosecutor by the division, or some other governmental unit, one-half of the civil or criminal penalty assessed shall be paid to that governmental unit.
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