California (Cal/OSHA)

California runs one of the largest and strictest state plans. Cal/OSHA, the Division of Occupational Safety and Health in the Department of Industrial Relations, covers most private and public workplaces in the state. Many of its rules go beyond federal OSHA, so workers and contractors coming from other states should not assume the rules are the same.

• Construction
• General Industry
• Public employees
• California

At a glance

Key California requirements

• Injury and Illness Prevention Program (IIPP), T8 §3203: every employer must have a written program that names who is responsible, how workers are kept in compliance, how hazards are found, investigated and corrected, how safety is communicated and how workers are trained. Cal/OSHA cites missing or weak IIPPs more than almost anything else.
• Code of Safe Practices and tailgate meetings (construction), T8 §1509: construction employers must post a Code of Safe Practices at each job and hold toolbox or tailgate safety meetings at least every 10 working days.
• Outdoor heat illness prevention, T8 §3395: enough fresh water for each worker to drink about a quart per hour, shade when it reaches 80°F, cool-down rest breaks, acclimatization, a written plan, training, and high-heat procedures at 95°F.
• Indoor heat, T8 §3396: protections in indoor workplaces that reach 82°F, with more controls at higher temperatures or heat index.
• Workplace violence prevention, Labor Code §6401.9: most employers must have a written Workplace Violence Prevention Plan, keep a violent incident log and train workers.
• Wildfire smoke, T8 §5141.1: protections, including respirators, for outdoor workers when the air quality index for PM2.5 reaches unhealthy levels.
• Fall protection in construction: California’s general construction trigger is 7½ feet (federal is 6 feet), with different rules for some trades and situations such as roofing and steel erection.
• Cal/OSHA permits are required before certain dangerous work: trenches and excavations 5 feet or deeper that people will enter, construction or demolition of buildings more than 3 stories or 36 feet high, and scaffolding, falsework or vertical shoring more than 36 feet high.
• Valley fever: construction employers in counties where valley fever is common must train workers who disturb soil.
• Respirable crystalline silica: an emergency standard adds strict rules for engineered stone fabrication. See Countertop Fabrication.
• Asbestos work requires contractor registration with Cal/OSHA for projects of 100 square feet or more. See Asbestos Rules by State.

Reporting injuries

Employers must report any serious injury, illness or death to the nearest Cal/OSHA district office immediately, and no later than 8 hours after they know or should have known. A serious injury is one that requires inpatient hospitalization beyond observation, or causes an amputation, loss of an eye or serious permanent disfigurement.

Complaints and retaliation

• Workers can file a safety complaint with their local Cal/OSHA district office by phone, email or in person, and can ask that their name be kept confidential.
• California Labor Code §6310 and §6311 protect workers who complain about safety or refuse work that would violate a safety rule and create a real and apparent hazard. Retaliation complaints go to the Labor Commissioner. File as soon as possible.

Other California laws worth knowing

California has daily overtime, meal and rest break premiums, the ABC test for independent contractors, paid sick leave and strict final-pay rules. See California Worker Rights.

Last updated: October 1, 2026