The Cal/OSHA Staffing Crisis: A Looming Challenge for Workplace Safety

by AnaStacia Nicol Wright

Worksafe was recently asked to testify at the Assembly Labor Committee Hearing held in February 2024. Organized by California Food and Farming Network to shed light on the concerning statistics regarding the staffing crisis at Cal/OSHA, it painted a bleak picture of the agency’s ability to enforce workplace safety regulations effectively.

Delving into the numbers presented at the hearing, it was apparent that Cal/OSHA is facing a significant shortage of staff across various departments. Insider Cal/OSHA reports that as of December 31, 2023, there were a total of 133 vacancies in the Cal/OSHA Enforcement division, resulting in an overall vacancy rate of 38%. Cities such as San Francisco, San Bernardino, Bakersfield, and Long Beach reported staggering vacancy rates ranging from 50% to 67%, indicating a critical shortage of resources in key areas.

The staffing crisis extends beyond field enforcement. Cal/OSHA’s Legal Unit faces a 32% vacancy rate and is further hindered by the absence of crucial administrative roles essential for supporting the agency’s operations. Additionally, the criminal investigation unit, which should ideally have nine staff members, is currently being led by only one person, contributing to a significant backlog of cases.

One alarming trend highlighted during the hearing is the increasing reliance on letters instead of on-site inspections by Cal/OSHA. The shift towards remote communication methods has raised concerns about the agency’s ability to conduct thorough investigations and effectively ensure compliance with workplace safety standards. Statistics reveal a stark increase in the number of investigations conducted through letters, with almost half of all investigations in 2022 being carried out in this manner.

The inadequacy of staffing levels is further underscored by the disparity in inspector-to-worker ratios compared to other states. In 2014, an agency watchdog reported that the agency has an inspector to worker ratio of 1 inspector to 102,000 workers — worse than Fed OSHA’s ratio of 1 to 66,000 and much worse than Washington state’s 1 to 33,000 and Oregon’s ratio of 1 to 28,000.

In an October 2023 update, almost a decade later, the ratio is worse: Cal/OSHA’s inspector to worker ratio is 1 inspector to every 110,000 workers in the state. This compares to ratios of 1 to 27,000 in Washington state and 1 to 26,000 in Oregon.

The Hearing also called attention to the lack of diversity and language support within the agency, which has only 16 field enforcement inspectors certified in speaking languages other than English–a substantial barrier to effective communication and engagement in a workforce as diverse as California’s, which only further compounds the challenges faced by Cal/OSHA.

KQED documented 19 Spanish bilingual inspectors to serve a population of over 2.3 million Spanish speaking / low-English proficiency workers in California, one Cantonese bilingual inspector serving over 300,000 Vietnamese speaking workers, and zero inspectors serving some 600,000 California workers who speak other languages.

It is clear that urgent steps must be taken to address the staffing deficiencies at Cal/OSHA and ensure that the agency is equipped to fulfill its mandate of safeguarding the well-being of California’s workforce. Towards this aim, Senator Ortega requested an audit into the staffing issues at Cal/OSHA during the February 7th hearing. Failure to address these challenges promptly could have far-reaching implications for workplace safety and the protection of workers’ rights in the state.

Stay tuned for updates on this critical issue and the potential implications for workplace safety in California.