Pulaski
Pulaski v. California Occupational Safety & Health Standards Board
Opinion
Opinion
Callahan, J.
In 1993, the Legislature enacted Labor Code section 6357, directing the California Occupational Safety and Health (Cal OSHA) Standards Board to “adopt standards for ergonomics in the workplace designed to minimize the instances of injury from repetitive motion.”
In response to this legislative mandate, and following a protracted saga of rulemaking, comments and public hearings, Cal OSHA’s standards board (the Board) promulgated title 8, section 5110 of the California Code of Regulations (Regulation 5110).
No sooner was the ink dry on the final regulation than it came under attack from opposite directions: Labor interests claimed the regulation was too soft, that it contained “loopholes” which were inconsistent with the mandate of Labor Code section 6357 and guaranteed that employers would be able to virtually ignore the problem of repetitive stress injury. Certain employer groups, spearheaded by the American Trucking Associations, Inc., and California Trucking Association, thought the regulation scientifically unsound and issued without substantial compliance with the California Administrative Procedure Act (APA) (Gov. Code, § 11340 et seq.).