People v. Lockheed Shipbuilding & Construction Co.

On March 27, 1972, a misdemeanor complaint was filed against Lockheed Shipbuilding and Construction Company, a corporation, and Loren G. Savage and Otha G. Ree, Jr. (among other individuals). This included charges of violations of five separate safety orders and recommendations issued by the Division of Industrial Safety. Each “order and recommendation” was allegedly given by authority of section 6313 of the Labor Code and made criminal by section 6315.

The municipal court sustained a demurrer to counts in the complaint based on such safety orders, without leave to amend, on the theory that section 6315 (as applied to orders and recommendations made under § 6313) is unconstitutional. The appellate department of the superior court agreed with the municipal trial court’s determination. Pursuant to rule 63(a) and (c), California Rules of Court, we certified the transfer of the above entitled cause to this court. For reasons that we shall detail below, we agree with the findings of the lower courts.

Section 6313 of the Labor Code reads as follows: “The division may investigate the cause of all industrial injuries resulting in disability or death which occur within the State…