STATEMENT TO

ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR

ASSEMBLY, No. 2094

with Assembly Floor Amendments

(Proposed by Assemblywoman ALLEN)

ADOPTED: JANUARY 29, 1997

      These Assembly Amendments make the following changes in the bill:

      1. Only the State Department of Labor is given access to the files and records of the Joint Safety and Health Committees established under the bill. The Workplace Safety and Health Commission, which includes organized labor representatives, is not given access to those records and files. Instead, the department may only give the commission information which cannot be identified with any particular workplace, unless permission is given by the employer and any employee representative. This ensures that the organized labor representatives on the commission will not be given access to information about particular employers and workplaces which is otherwise unavailable.

      2. The wording regarding the responsibility of a Joint Safety and Health Committee with respect to accidents and exposures is changed to require that the committee conduct “inquiries into” the accidents and exposures, instead of “investigations.”

      3. The Commissioner of Labor and the commission are directed to make technical assistance available to coordinate an employer’s applications for funding to train committee members and for workers’ compensation premium reductions. If an employer does not receive the funding to train the committee members, the employer is given the options of not using a premium reduction and not establishing a Joint Safety and Health Committee. This guarantees that no employer will be compelled to pay the costs of training committee members.