PHRca CA Health and Safety 5 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: California's Aerosol Transmissible Diseases (ATD) standard (CCR Title 8, Section 5199) primarily applies to which types of employers?
- All employers with more than 25 employees
- Healthcare facilities and certain laboratories handling infectious aerosols (Correct answer)
- Outdoor workers in proximity to wildfire smoke
- Employers in the food processing industry
Correct answer: Healthcare facilities and certain laboratories handling infectious aerosols
The ATD standard applies to healthcare facilities, labs, and similar settings where employees may be exposed to aerosol transmissible diseases such as tuberculosis or influenza.
Question 2: Under California's Emergency Temporary Standard framework, which board has the authority to adopt emergency Cal/OSHA standards?
- California Occupational Safety and Health Appeals Board (OSHAB)
- Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board (OSHSB) (Correct answer)
- California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH)
- California Department of Public Health (CDPH)
Correct answer: Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board (OSHSB)
The Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board (OSHSB) is the rulemaking body that adopts, amends, or repeal Cal/OSHA standards, including emergency temporary standards.
Question 3: An HR professional discovers that a supervisor discouraged employees from reporting injuries to avoid increasing the company's OSHA recordable rate. This practice is known as:
- Hazard suppression
- Recordkeeping retaliation (Correct answer)
- Injury rate gaming
- OSHA log manipulation
Correct answer: Recordkeeping retaliation
Discouraging injury reporting to manipulate recordable rates constitutes recordkeeping retaliation, which is prohibited by both Cal/OSHA and federal OSHA.
Question 4: California's Lockout/Tagout standard (CCR Title 8, Section 3314) requires that energy control procedures be reviewed at minimum:
- Monthly
- Quarterly
- Annually (Correct answer)
- Only when an accident involving energy release occurs
Correct answer: Annually
Section 3314 requires employers to conduct an annual review of each energy control procedure to ensure it is adequate and being followed.
Question 5: Under California Labor Code Section 6401.7, which of the following is NOT a required element of an employer's Injury and Illness Prevention Program?
- System for identifying workplace hazards
- Employee disciplinary procedures for safety violations (Correct answer)
- A system for communicating with employees on safety matters
- Accident and exposure investigation procedures
Correct answer: Employee disciplinary procedures for safety violations
While disciplinary procedures may be a best practice, they are not one of the eight mandated elements of the IIPP under Labor Code Section 6401.7.
Question 6: A California warehouse worker is required to lift boxes weighing 60 lbs repeatedly. Under which Cal/OSHA standard would the employer's ergonomic obligations be evaluated?
- CCR Title 8, Section 5110 (Repetitive Motion Injuries) (Correct answer)
- CCR Title 8, Section 5155 (Air Contaminants)
- CCR Title 8, Section 3203 (IIPP)
- CCR Title 8, Section 3380 (Personal Protective Devices)
Correct answer: CCR Title 8, Section 5110 (Repetitive Motion Injuries)
CCR Title 8 Section 5110 governs repetitive motion injuries (RMIs) including those from manual lifting and repetitive tasks in the workplace.
Question 7: California's Wildfire Smoke standard (CCR Title 8, Section 5141.1) requires employers to take action when the Air Quality Index (AQI) for PM2.5 reaches what level?
- 51 (Moderate)
- 101 (Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups) (Correct answer)
- 151 (Unhealthy)
- 201 (Very Unhealthy)
Correct answer: 101 (Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups)
Section 5141.1 requires employers with outdoor workers to take protective actions when the AQI for PM2.5 is 151 or higher — but communication and monitoring obligations begin at AQI 101.
PHRca CA Health and Safety 5
California's Aerosol Transmissible Diseases (ATD) standard (CCR Title 8, Section 5199) primarily applies to which types of employers?