2022 Cal/OSHA Summit

COVID, COVID, COVID! COVID-19 has been like the Marsha Brady for safety professionals; it's all anyone can talk about or focus on. But what about all the other new regulatory items EHS pros need to understand and comply with? Can we focus on anything other than COVID-19 for once?

In this kick-off session, our expert presenter will join us to discuss the Cal/OSHA regulatory agenda and how new and upcoming changes will affect the way you monitor and implement your safety initiatives.

Generational differences, retention issues, culture shifts, ESG, and then a pandemic. The safety and EHS roles throughout the world are still nursing whiplash while we try to manage the newest fires being put out. With an ever-shifting goal post and typically many other hats to be worn as a safety pro, let’s do our best to look at our current state and even some trends to help us move forward successfully in the field.

In this session you will get the following key takeaways:

• The positive ways the pandemic has hit the EHS
• Working to understand the incoming generation into the workforce
• Culture shifts and your role in helping manage it with a different way to look into safety
• How ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) can be sustained and maybe get ahead of the curve
• Talk about where we are headed as a profession

We can only avoid the COVID topic for so long! As a California safety professional, you know Cal/OSHA has set the bar for all COVID-19 regulations. Despite the federal COVID-19 vaccine mandate not working out, Cal/OSHA's mandate is still alive and well. In this session, we'll uncover new and upcoming COVID-19 emergency temporary standards or regulations and discuss best practices for complying with these changes.

Marijuana is becoming increasingly common in our society and in our workplace. Though medical marijuana has been legal in California since the Compassionate Use Act of 1996, the legalization of recreational marijuana has increased the number of times employers encounter situations with employees who are using or have used marijuana.

Despite the continued validity of zero-tolerance policies, some California employers have begun to move away from the hard-and-fast rules and to relax their drug testing policies, which could spell trouble for safety professionals tasked with keeping workers safe.

Outside of uniform preemployment drug testing, employers can only require drug tests of employees if there is a reasonable suspicion that the employees have been using drugs. This uniform application is where marijuana testing often hits a snag. Where does that leave employers seeking a drug-free workplace for safety reasons?

Learn how to legally conduct post-accident drug testing in accordance with applicable California laws and conduct proper “reasonable suspicion” training in this engaging session.

You’ll also learn how to:

• Identify the circumstances in which Cal/OSHA may consider recreational or medical marijuana testing to constitute illegal retaliation.
• Recognize how Cal/OSHA’s post-incident drug testing rule interacts with other state and federal drug testing laws.
• Implement best practices for balancing competing safety and legal considerations when developing a drug testing strategy.
• Develop reasonable-suspicion training for supervisors.
• Create a drug and alcohol testing policy that protects the safety and health of employees and the public.

Safety leaders are always looking for ways they can mitigate risk, take preventive action against potential hazards and incidents, and improve their company’s overall safety culture, and that includes preventing violent incidents from occurring in your workplace. But where do you begin?

One way to reduce workplace violence is through implementing a behavioral threat assessment and management process, and this session will show you how!

In this session, you’ll learn:

• How to identify the different types of workplace violence,
• The steps to take in implementing a behavioral threat assessment,
• Key provisions for training employees on workplace violence prevention, and
• How to train your employees on assessing workplace behavior.

To better protect employees on the jobsite—and help employers understand the costly fines associated with on-site injuries or occupational-related deaths—OSHA strictly enforces citations for safety violations that could lead to severe injury or death. And each year, the agency releases a list of the most cited violations and penalties employers received.

In this informative session, you'll learn about the OSHA top 10 list, the penalties associated with violating the standards mentioned in the list, and ways to correct safety behaviors in order to avoid becoming another statistic.

Safety at work is about more than just avoiding lawsuits. The idea of fostering a “safety culture” at work has shifted to the forefront of the safety industry, and it is now a priority for many EHS professionals. An ideal safety culture not only means eliminating or mitigating hazards and at-risk behavior but also ensuring the methods used to bring about that change leaves people feeling better about themselves, their coworkers, their situation, and the organization.

This requires developing intervention strategies that include elements of choice and personal control, employee involvement and ownership, and focusing on allowing employees to work to achieve valuable outcomes for safety instead of creating situations in which those involved are primarily motivated by avoiding negative consequences. In this session, you'll uncover innovative strategies to help you administer and train your workforce in order to better improve your organization's safety culture.

You’ll learn:

• Why the “show and tell” method is perfect for knowledge retention;
• Which key performance indicators are needed to ensure that safety training is effective;
• Other methods of providing safety training;
• The importance of documenting all training, including informal toolbox talks (i.e., with attendance sheets) if employers want it to count toward compliance with safety regulations; and
• The legal concerns to be aware of when offering informal training.

Cal/OSHA has established an Alliance Program that is available to groups that are committed to worker safety and health. In this session, attendees will learn how they can be part of a Cal/OSHA Alliance Agreement, along with their responsibilities of being an active Alliance Participant and the benefits of becoming an Alliance Partner. The Alliance Program is open to all interested participants, including trade associations; worker organizations; educational institutions; other local, state, and federal agencies; and many more.

As you know, Cal/OSHA requires some employers to prepare and maintain records of work-related injuries and illnesses. This session will discuss best practices for keeping mandatory and nonmandatory records and documentation.

During this session, you will learn the following:

• What is recordable, the differences between “first aid” and “medical treatment,” how to determine whether an injury or illness is work-related, and more;
• What is immediately reportable as a serious injury and how to deal with Cal/OSHA incident investigations under 8 California Code of Regulations (CCR) 342;
• Cal/OSHA 300, 301, and 300A forms: who must complete the forms, best practices for completing them correctly, and how to avoid certifying inaccurate recordkeeping data;
• Most common Cal/OSHA injury and illness recordkeeping mistakes to avoid and tips for effective root cause incident analysis to ensure accurate reporting; and
• Best practices for nonmandatory records and documentation.