The former chief of the California Occupational Safety and Health Division defended its Injury’s Illness Prevention Program following a study by think tank RAND Corp. showing the occupational safety program that requires California businesses to eliminate workplace hazards only works when it’s adequately enforced.
The study by Santa Monica, Calif-based RAND, which says this is the first study to be conducted on the program, shows the program reduces workplace injuries, but only at businesses that had been cited for not addressing the regulation’s more-specific safety mandates.
The program is designed to save countless dollars in workplace injury payouts.
The California Injury and Illness Prevention Program, or CIIPP, which began in 1991, mandates certain procedures for employers, including communicating to employees about risks, carrying out workplace surveys, abating hazards, safety training and investigating causes of injuries. It also requires employers to have a written document concerning the program.
The program has been the most frequently violated Cal-OSHA standard in every year since its inception, being cited in about 25 percent of all inspections, according to RAND.
“We found the safety effects to be real, but not very large,” John Mendeloff, lead author of the study and
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