Filling a Gap in Job Safety Law

When a worker is given a task without adequate training or safety measures and is seriously injured or killed as a result, should the employer be held accountable? Yes. But current California law falls short in addressing such incidents. Assemblyman Wally Knox (D-Los Angeles) has introduced a bill that would help fill the gap.

Under current law, district attorneys have two courses available on willful job safety violations. They can pursue a case as a misdemeanor, with a maximum fine of $70,000 and up to six months in county jail, or they can press felony manslaughter charges, but only if gross negligence (a very high legal standard) can be proved. Even then, the fine is only $10,000, with two to four years in state prison if, and that’s a big if, the violation can be pinned on a particular person or persons. No surprise that most cases end up as misdemeanors.

That leaves a few cases where the penalty pales in comparison to the violation. For example, a steel company worker was crushed by rollers when he was put into a job for which he was not trained. His employer, convicted of a misdemeanor, paid only a negligible fine.

Knox’s AB 1015 would create a workplace felony that fits between the current misdemeanor and manslaughter. A company, employer or manager who willfully violates occupational safety and health laws could be charged with a felony if a worker died in an accident that was “reasonably foreseeable.” The penalties would be a fine of up to $1 million and a state prison term. Prosecutors would have the option of pursuing both death and injury cases as misdemeanors carrying a fine of up to $500,000 and a county jail term of up to a year, penalties significantly stiffer than under current law.

The legislation is backed by the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office. It is opposed by business groups. But it would apply to very few employers and only in cases of clearly preventable harm to workers. The Legislature should approve the Knox bill.