CAAA: A Double Whammy for Those Who Work Outdoors

Wednesday, December 15, 2021 | 0

There are 3.8 million Californians who work outdoors. They are vulnerable to injury from smoke inhalation during wildfire season.

California stepped forward and required employers to mitigate their vulnerability — educate employees on how to protect themselves, provide them masks and move them indoors temporarily when possible.

An NPR journalists’ investigation found that out of the 221 wildfire smoke danger complaints filed with Cal/OSHA, only 11 employers received a citation. The remaining 210 employers simply received a letter, with no citation.

A double whammy. The state is failing to enforce its own Cal/OSHA law to prevent injuries. It is failing to enforce its own workers’ comp law to provide quick access to medical attention when an injury occurs.

Farmworkers. Construction workers. Landscaping workers.

All three industries rely heavily on undocumented workers. All three groups of those undocumented workers cannot rely on state government to do right by them.

Former Gov. Jerry Brown often said that not every problem needs a new law. The double whammy on injuries from wildfire smoke makes his point.

It’s a problem that can be fixed — simply — by enforcing the laws to protect workers from getting injured and taking better care of them if they are.

This opinion is republished, with permission, from the California Applicants' Attorneys Association website.