Pub 9 2020-2021 Issue 1

16 San Diego Dealer R ecently, an automobile dealer was cited for failure to provide safety shoes. Cal/OSHA assessed a penalty of $5,850 for this serious violation. California Court of Appeals has also upheld a citation against employers not providing proper safety foot- wear. See Home Depot U.S.A., Inc. v. Cal. Occupational Safety & Health Appeals Bd., E070417 (Cal. Ct. App. Oct. 17, 2019). After this California Court of Appeals decision, we believe that citation for failure to have safety shoes is low-hanging fruit for OSHA inspectors. Dealerships would now be a frequent target for citations for failure to provide safety shoes for employees. Safety inspections of the shop and parts department have revealed that many employees are not wearing appropriate footwear to adequately protect them from foot injuries caused by crushing or falling objects, such as a rotor or a battery. Sharp objects left on the shop floor can also penetrate the shoe and injure the foot. Footwear in the shop area must be slip-resistant to protect employees should they encounter slippery surfaces (slip hazards are common due to accidental spills of lubricants in the shop). The porters are subject to abnormally wet locations (car wash), and as such, their shoes must provide traction. WHAT DO THE CALIFORNIA REGULATIONS SAY: The Cal/OSHA regulation (T8CCR3385) is stated as follows: (a) Appropriate foot protection shall be required for employees who are exposed to foot injuries fromelectrical hazards, hot, corrosive, poisonous substances, falling objects, crushing, or penetrating actions, which may cause injuries or who are required to work in abnormally wet locations. (b) Footwear which is defective or inappropriate to the extent that its ordinary use creates thepossibility of foot injuries shall not beworn. (c) (1) Protective footwear for employees purchased after January 26, 2007, shall meet the requirements and specifications in American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) F 2412-05, Standard Test Methods for Foot Protection and ASTM F 2413- 05, Standard Specification for Performance Requirements for Foot Protection which are hereby incorporated by reference. The ASTM standard as quoted in the OSHA standard has been updated. See note below. Note 1: ASTMF2412-18a andASTMF2413-18 are themost current standards in the industry. ASTM F2413-18 contains basic requirements to evaluate footwear, which include: Impact resistance (I), Compression resistance (C), Metatarsal protection (M.T.), and Conductive properties (CD) to limit static electricity buildup. In addition to these requirements, this standard requires labeling on the safety footwear to identify specific protections. Note 2: Cal/OSHA regulations, as mentioned above, state that footwear that creates the possibility of foot injuries shall not be worn and hence, any shoes that may cause injuries from ordinary use in the shop area should not be used. BEST PROTECTION: Shoes for staff must meet ASTM standard as listed in Note(s) above. The shoe must have metatarsal protection with a skid Foot Protection Requirements