(b) To the extent not in conflict with this or any other section, on the date this subdivision becomes operative, the responsibilities of the Division of Labor Statistics and Research that are specified in Subchapter 1 (commencing with Section 14000) and Subchapter 2 (commencing with Section 14900) of Chapter 7 of Division 1 of Title 8 of the California Code of Regulations are reassigned to the Division of Occupational Safety and Health and the responsibilities of the Division of Labor Statistics and Research that are specified in Subchapter 3 (commencing with Section 16000) of Chapter 8 of Division 1 of Title 8 of the California Code of Regulations are reassigned to the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement.
(Amended by Stats. 2012, Ch. 46, Sec. 83. Effective June 27, 2012.)
151. (a) The department shall conduct an annual survey of the ethnic derivation of the individuals who are parties to apprentice agreements described in Section 3077. In conducting this survey, the division shall use any pertinent data which the federal government may provide to avoid duplication of effort.
(b) The Division of Apprenticeship Standards shall cooperate in the accomplishment of the survey required by this section. The occasion of this survey may be used to gather such additional current data as may be of benefit to apprenticeship programs.
(c) Data gathered pursuant to this section shall not be evidence per se of an unlawful employment practice.
(d) Nothing in this section shall be construed to authorize any state agency to require an employer to employ a specified percentage of individuals of any particular ethnic derivation irrespective of such individuals’ qualifications for employment.
(Amended by Stats. 2012, Ch. 46, Sec. 84. Effective June 27, 2012.)
152. The Director of Industrial Relations and authorized employees of the department may issue subpoenas to compel the attendance of witnesses and production of books, papers, and records; administer oaths; examine witnesses under oath; take the verification or proof of written instruments; and take depositions and affidavits for the purpose of carrying out the provisions of this code and performing the duties required by this chapter. They shall have free access to all places of labor. Any person, or agent or officer thereof, who willfully neglects or refuses to furnish statistics requested by the division, which are in his or her possession, or under his or her control, or who refuses to admit the director or his or her authorized employee to a place of labor, is guilty of a misdemeanor. The director may direct the chief and the employees of other divisions of the department to transmit any statistical information in their possession, or to conduct investigations and otherwise assist in the gathering of whatever statistics the director deems desirable.
(Amended by Stats. 2012, Ch. 46, Sec. 85. Effective June 27, 2012.)
153. Except as provided in Section 151 no use shall be made in the statistical or other reports prepared pursuant to this chapter of the names of persons supplying the information required under this code. Any agent or employee of the department who violates this section is guilty of a misdemeanor.
(Amended by Stats. 2012, Ch. 46, Sec. 86. Effective June 27, 2012.)
156. An annual report containing statistics on California work injuries and occupational diseases and fatalities by industry classifications shall be completed and published by the department no later than December 31 of the following calendar year. All of the reports and statistics shall be available to the public.
(Amended by Stats. 2012, Ch. 46, Sec. 87. Effective June 27, 2012.)
CHAPTER 7.5. Division of Occupational Safety and Health [175–176]
(Heading of Chapter 7.5 amended by Stats. 1980, Ch. 676.)
175. The Division of Occupational Safety and Health shall be the lead agency in providing for public health and safety as well as worker health and safety in the construction, maintenance, and operation of any liquefied petroleum gas storage facility, other than a facility owned or maintained by a public utility, having a capacity of 100,000 barrels or more, including storage vessels, and related piping, pumping, distribution, and transfer apparatus. As the lead agency, the division shall request any state or local agency having statutory public health and safety jurisdiction over any part of the construction, maintenance, or operation of any such liquefied petroleum gas storage facility, other than a facility owned or maintained by a public utility, to exercise its statutory jurisdiction in relation to such facility, and shall report to the Legislature any instance in which such jurisdiction was not exercised.
(Amended by Stats. 1980, Ch. 676.)
176. (a) The Legislature hereby finds and declares that the Dymally-Alatorre Bilingual Services Act, Chapter 17.5 (commencing with Section 7290) of Division 7 of Title 1 of the Government Code, was enacted in 1973 to provide for the removal of language barriers that prevent the people of this state who are not proficient in English from effectively accessing government services and otherwise communicating with their government.
The Legislature further finds and declares that limited-English-proficient individuals will benefit from increased language-based access to the programs and services of the Division of Occupational Safety and Health.
The Legislature further finds and declares that federal statistics show that from 1996 to 2000, while overall worker fatalities dropped 14 percent, immigrant worker fatalities rose 17 percent. Immigrant workers die on the job at higher rates because they frequently work in more dangerous industries with little or no training. Language barriers compound the problem because training and warning signs are often only in English.
(b) As used in this section, a “public contact position” means any position responsible for responding to telephone or in-office inquiries or taking complaints from the general public regarding matters pertaining to occupational safety and health.
(c) As used in the section, an “investigative position” means any position responsible for investigating complaints, injuries, or deaths related to occupational safety and health.
(d) As used in this section, “limited-English-proficient” refers to persons who speak English less than “very well,” in accordance with United States Census data.
(e) The division shall make all efforts to ensure that limited-English-proficient persons can communicate effectively with the division. Examples of potential measures include, but are not limited to, the hiring of bilingual persons in public contact positions and investigative positions, the use of contract based interpreters, and the use of telephone-based interpretation services. Nothing contained in this section relieves the division of its separate obligations under the Dymally-Alatorre Bilingual Services Act, Chapter 17.5 (commencing with Section 7290) of Division 7 of Title 1 of the Government Code, or any other state or federal laws requiring the provision of its services in languages other than English.
(f) On July 30, 2004, the Division of Occupational Safety and Health shall issue a progress report to the Legislature on the implementation of this section that shall, at a minimum, include all of the following:
(1) The most recent information provided to the California State Personnel Board pursuant to Section 7299.4 of the Government Code.
(2) The number of bilingual employees in public contact and investigative positions in each local office of the division and the languages they speak, other than English.
(3) A description of any centralized system or other resources for providing translation and interpretation services within the division.
(4) A description of any quality control measures or evaluations undertaken by the division to evaluate whether limited-English-proficient persons are able to communicate effectively with the division.
(5) A description of any means, such as contracted interpreters, telephone-based interpretation services, or video conferencing, used by the division to communicate with individuals who are limited-English-proficient in the event that bilingual employees in public contact or investigative positions are not available, and the frequency in which these services were used by the division during the most