Bill > AB2488

This bill, following legislative findings that the Division of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH) faces a significant understaffing and vacancy crisis, particularly among its Compliance Safety and Health Officers (CSHOs) who are responsible for ensuring safe workplaces, proposes to address this issue by requiring the Department of Industrial Relations (DIR) to contract with the University of California, Berkeley Labor Occupational Health Program and the University of California, Los Angeles Labor Occupational Safety and Health Program, if funding is appropriated by the Legislature. These programs will conduct a study to evaluate the extent of understaffing and vacancies within DOSH and develop recommendations for policies and career pathways to attract and retain CSHOs, who are defined as personnel in the safety engineer and industrial hygienist classifications. The study, which may involve subcontractors and will include public input through meetings, must be completed within 18 months and will analyze causes of vacancies, suggest strategies for hiring and retention, identify potential training models like apprenticeships, and explore partnerships with other organizations, with a particular focus on recruiting candidates with linguistic and cultural competencies to serve California's diverse workforce. The final report will be publicly posted and submitted to the Governor and relevant legislative committees.

https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billStatusClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260AB2488