California Agencies Launch Roofing Compliance Group
Cal/OSHA and the state Labor Commissioner's Office are two of the agencies participating in it.
California's Department of Industrial Relations launched a Roofing Compliance Working Group on Sept. 3 to enforce safety and labor law standards across the state. The group will respond to complaints of health and safety hazards in the roofing industry and will investigate complaints related to payroll, misclassification, and workers' compensation issues.
"The roofing industry by nature comes with inherent risks, and we want to improve workplace safety for workers and help business owners who play by the rules to thrive," DIR Director Christine Baker said.
The agency's announcement said data from the Workers' Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau show there were 367 roofing-related falls from scaffolds, ladders, elevations, and into openings such as skylights in California in 2008-2010. The incidents resulted in total indemnity and medical costs exceeding $70 million.
Participants in the working group comprises the Labor Commissioner's Office and Cal/OSHA (both are divisions of DIR), the Employment Development Department, the Contractor's State Licensing Board, the State Compensation Insurance Fund, the Contra Costa District Attorney's Office, the San Francisco City and County District Attorney's Office, UC Berkeley's Labor Occupational Health Program, Associated Roofing Contractors, the Bay Area Roofers Labor-Management Trust, the San Francisco Roofers Labor-Management Trust, Roofers and Waterproofers Local 40, and Roofers and Waterproofers Local 81.
Cal/OSHA's Consultation Unit and the UC Berkeley program also will develop outreach and educational materials for roofing businesses and their employees as part of the initiative.