New Law on Workplace Safety Scares Smaller Firms : Regulations: Many large companies have extensive programs that meet SB 198 requirements. Some smaller operations are unsure if they comply.

There’s a new state law that went into effect July 1 that impacts virtually all employers in California. But many local companies don’t want to talk about it and some are so afraid of the measure that they’re paying thousands of dollars to consultants for advice on how to comply with it.

The law, Senate Bill 198, requires any business with at least one employee to have a comprehensive injury and illness prevention program. Although there are already many other laws and regulations on the books that address worker safety, the law now requires employers to have written accounts of their injury prevention programs and safety training for all workers.

The new law also puts more teeth into the enforcement authority of the state Occupational Safety and Health Administration, or Cal/OSHA, the agency responsible for reducing the number of workplace injuries.

Cal/OSHA officials say the costs of complying with the injury-reduction law are minimal and insist that their intent is to help businesses address the law’s requirements--and thus reduce work-related injuries. Enforcement efforts, they say, will be focused on industries and companies with a history of safety-related problems.

“This is not a threatening effort,” said John Duncan, deputy director of the state Department of Industrial Relations, which oversees Cal/OSHA.

Indeed, many big corporations say they already have extensive safety programs that are essentially in compliance with the new law.

“The ruling SB 198 had very little effect on us,” said Rich S tadler, spokesman for Lockheed Corp. in Burbank. “We already had all that in place. Basically, it meant formalizing it and reporting it as they wanted.”

Other local companies in industries that are typically associated with a high degree of government oversight--such as manufacturing and construction--also say that compliance with the law has not proved difficult.

“For us, it was just one more requirement to put out in the field,” said Anita Shald, risk manager at Bernards Bros., a San Fernando construction firm. Edmund Schinazi, facilities manager at Tekelec, a Calabasas maker of telecommunications testing equipment, called the new requirements “a piece of cake.”

But many small- and medium-sized businesses are worried about the injury-prevention law. In fact, more than a dozen local companies are so skittish about it that they declined to discuss the new law with The Times.

Why are these businesses so concerned?

“Most small businesses are afraid of bringing attention to themselves because either they’re not in compliance with SB 198 or they’re not sure if they’re in compliance,” said John Rooney, director of the Valley Economic Development Center, a nonprofit organization that plans to hold seminars to educate small businesses about the law.

Don Hair, corporate vice president of safety and health at Zenith National Insurance Corp., a Woodland Hills workers compensation insurer, said “a lot of small folks have never done anything like this in the past and they’re just overwhelmed by it.”

Under the law, businesses with one or more employee must identify at least one person responsible for worker safety and develop a training program to inform workers about injury prevention measures.

They’re also required to have a system for regularly communicating with employees about worker safety--including a means for workers to report unsafe conditions without fear of reprisal. And the entire program must be put in writing.

Cal/OSHA has about 140 inspectors available to make on-site visits to determine whether companies are complying with the law. The inspectors are targeting 100 industries thought to be the most hazardous, including agriculture, oil and gas, construction and logging. Fines range from $100 to $2,000 for serious violations and up to $20,000 if the violation is found to be repeated or willful.

There is another little-understood facet of the new law. If an inspection turns up various safety-code violations and the employer is also not in compliance with SB 198, then the employer is not eligible for certain penalty reductions that were commonly granted in the past.

But Andrew Schaefer, a consultant for the state Senate office of research, said the chances of an employer in a non-hazardous industry being cited for a serious violation are minimal. The intent of the new law, he said, is to regear Cal/OSHA so that the agency’s emphasis is on helping employers reduce injuries, rather than on responding to complaints.

“What we want here is a program focused on prevention, rather than a program that has people running around like traffic cops,” he said.

And for many small businesses--such as accounting firms, where the chief areas of concern might be ways to alleviate back and neck strain--the paperwork is probably not as daunting as they might think, Schaefer said.

“Many small employers could quite easily have a full injury-prevention program in a very small amount of print,” he said.

Schaefer said the fears of business owners have also been magnified by another new law, the eight-month-old California Corporate Criminal Liability Act, which gives prosecutors the power to file felony charges against company managers who expose workers or the public to a “serious concealed hazard.” This statute is sardonically referred to as the “Be-a-Manager, Go-to-Jail” law.

With all the confusion and negative publicity surrounding the two laws, Schaefer said, “You can scare the hell out of people.”

Yet another factor that’s fueled anxiety over the injury-prevention law, Duncan said, is the new cottage industry of consultants who advise companies on how to comply with the law. While many of these consultants are legitimate, some are merely playing on the fears of small business owners as a way to charge fees of up to thousands of dollars, Duncan said. A few even falsely identify themselves as being affiliated with Cal/OSHA, he said.

Duncan said the agency has begun a crackdown on some of these consultants. “We’re actively going to go after those who are fraudulently posing as bogus Cal/OSHA consultants and using scare tactics for profit,” he said.

Meanwhile, many local businesses say the injury prevention law will ultimately have a beneficial effect.

For Carey Weins, personnel director at Leslie’s Poolmart, a Chatsworth-based pool supply company, implementing the law has involved coordinating safety measures with managers of the company’s 104 stores, two distribution centers and two manufacturing plants. This has meant “a lot more maintenance, administration, monitoring and following through with policy changes,” she said.

But, Weins said, the law has helped to organize the company’s safety efforts. “It has made the record-keeping more consistent,” she said.

Jack Province, manager of assembly operations at Custom Control Sensors, a Chatsworth manufacturer of pressure switches, said the law “will probably save costs in the long run” by reducing the number of worker’s compensation claims.

And at Tekelec, equipment specially designed to help prevent injuries was already in place before the new law, Schinazi said. For example, office workers have flexible workstations that can be adapted to individual needs. In the factory, special conveyor belts and adjustable workbenches are used to help workers avoid heavy lifting.

But the new law has “made us more aware of all the things you need to do and make sure it’s all communicated to the employee,” Schinazi said. “It kind of makes you look at the workplace from a different angle and take a more pro-active approach to the facility.”

The Injury Prevention Law

As of July 1, California businesses with at least one employee are required to establish a written program for preventing work-related illnesses and injuries. Under the new law, a program must include:

* Identifying one or more workers responsible for implementing the program.

* A system for identifying and evaluating workplace hazards, including periodic inspections.

* Methods and procedures for investigating injuries and correcting unsafe or unhealthy conditions.

* A worker health and safety training program.

* A system for communicating with employees about health and safety matters, including encouraging workers to tell the employer about workplace hazards without fear of reprisal.

* A system for ensuring that workers comply with safe work practices.