The California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) raised its maximum penalties for regulatory, general, willful, or repeat safety and health violations, the agency announced January 27. Cal/OSHA is a division of the state’s Department of Industrial Relations (DIR).

The state workplace safety and health agency set the following maximum penalties:

• The maximum penalty for general and regulatory violations, including posting and recordkeeping violations, is $16,285.
• The maximum penalty for willful and repeat violations is $162,851.
• The maximum penalty for violations classified as serious, which didn’t increase, is $25,000.
• The minimum penalty for willful violations is $11,632.

The agency is required by state law to set annual increases. Under state law, enacted by the California Legislature in 2017, the agency must increase certain minimum and maximum civil penalties consistent with the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) civil penalties. On January 10, federal OSHA raised inflation-adjusted penalties for 2025.

Cal/OSHA’s penalty increases are based on the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ (BLS) report on the October Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers each year. This year’s adjustment for the inflation rate was approximately 2.6%.

Cal/OSHA is one of 22 state workplace safety and health programs covering both private sector and state and local government workers. Six states, including Connecticut, New Jersey, and New York, have programs covering only state and local government workers.

Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act, state programs must be “at least as effective” as the federal OSHA program.

Cal/OSHA issues wildfire smoke alert for Los Angeles, Ventura counties

Cal/OSHA reminded employers on January 22 to protect workers from unhealthy air due to wildfire smoke. The Hughes Fire has affected air quality in Ventura and Northern Los Angeles counties.

The agency referred employers to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire) website for the latest status on the fire, road closures, and evacuation orders. Wildfire smoke also affected air quality in Castaic, Santa Clarita, and Oxnard counties, according to Cal/OSHA.

Cal/OSHA’s wildfire smoke standard requires employers to protect workers by monitoring air quality, adjusting work practices, and providing N95 filtering facepiece respirators (FFRs) for voluntary use. The state standard also contains training requirements. There’s no corresponding federal standard for wildfire smoke.

Wildfire smoke contains chemicals, gases, and fine particles that can harm health, according to Cal/OSHA. Breathing in particulate matter (PM2.5) from wildfire smoke can cause coughing, wheezing, difficulty breathing, and reduced lung function and can worsen asthma or other existing heart and lung conditions.

The state standard includes the following requirements:

• Monitoring air quality: Employers must monitor the Air Quality Index (AQI) for particulate matter (PM2.5) before and throughout a work shift. Air quality can be tracked through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) AirNow website or California’s local air quality management district websites. Employers can also use their own instruments to measure PM2.5 at worksites.

• Where the AQI for PM2.5 is above 150, employers must provide respirators to all workers and encourage workers to use them.

• Where the AQI for PM2.5 exceeds 500, respirator use is required.

• Antiretaliation: It’s illegal in California for employers to retaliate against workers for refusing to work in unsafe conditions, including in evacuation zones.