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Alert! New OSHA Hazcom Training Required by December 1
Federal OSHA and Cal/OSHA are requiring that companies that handle chemical and toxic substances train their employees in the new Hazard Communication Standard. Under the new Hazcom Standard, businesses will begin receiving new compliance labels and safety data sheets that are consistent with the United Nations' Globally Harmonized System. Employers must train their employees on how to read safety data sheets (SDSs) and labels in the new format by December 1. Be sure to document your training.
Why you need to train: Chemicals entering the workplace will have new labels and SDSs. Employees must be able to: 1) recognize new label and SDS formats; 2) determine the chemical hazards; and 3) know safety precautions when handling chemicals to minimize risk.
OSHA Training Materials - download to use during on-site training:
Label Quick Card
Haz Com Wallet Card
Pictogram Quick Card
SDS Card - English
SDS Card - Spanish
SDS OSHA Brief
Additional Resources:
OSHA Fact Sheet
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Governor Brown Appoints Patrick Dorais as Chief of the California DCA Bureau of Automotive Repair
Patrick Dorais, 49, of Carmichael, has been appointed chief of the California Department of Consumer Affairs Bureau of Automotive Repair, where he has served as deputy chief since 2007. Dorais served as deputy chief at the California Victim Compensation and Government Claims Board in 2007 and at the California Department of Consumer Affairs Bureau for Private Postsecondary and Vocational Education from 2004 to 2007. He served in multiple positions at the California Department of Consumer Affairs Bureau of Automotive Repair from 1995 to 2004, including bureau chief and deputy chief. Dorais was special assistant to the secretary of the California Environmental Protection Agency from 1991 to 1995, special assistant to the director of the California Governor's Office of Planning and Research in 1991 and a legislative correspondent in the U.S. Senate from 1987 to 1990. Dorais earned a Juris Doctor degree from the Lincoln Law School of Sacramento. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $119,664. Dorais is a Republican.
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New Layer of Employer Liability for Texting While Driving
A new appeals court decision should serve as an additional reminder about the liability you as an employer can face for not properly ensuring that your staff who drive on the job do not send texts while behind the wheel. In what could be a test case for employer liability in states that ban texting while driving, the New Jersey Appellate Division has held that "a person sending text messages has a duty not to text someone who is driving if the texter knows, or has special reason to know, the recipient will view the text while driving." While the case in question was not in the context of an employer texting an employee, the logic would also apply if the employer knowingly sent text message to an employee who was driving in the course of their employment. For auto repair businesses, for example, this would apply when technicians (or owners) take a car out to see if they can diagnose a problem.
Read more on this and the entire monthly report from Armstrong, ASCCA's insurance partner, here.
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ASCCA Legislative Report
The legislative session for this year ended on September 13, 2013, after which the governor had a month to sign, veto, or take no action on bills. The Legislature returns in January 2014. Click on the link below for an update on the bills that ASCCA has been monitoring.
ASCCA Legislative Report - November 2013
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November
Member of the Month
 Phil Fournier, Phil's Auto Clinic, Hemet, CA
In his own words:
I was working on my dad's lawnmower before I was a teenager. I built my own go-cart when I was 11 years old. I barely considered any other career even though my dad was a geophysicist with a degree from the Colorado School of Mines and my brother was studying mechanical engineering. I got my first job in a salvage yard at age 13, busting tires. My brother, the mechanical engineer, lost his job when nuclear power went south after Three Mile Island. My dad decided that purchasing the auto repair business where I worked would be a good idea and give my brother a job. That was 1984 and as they say, the rest is history. We learned of ASCCA early on, even before we took ownership of the shop, through the Tim Runner/ASCCA trade shows that were held in Anaheim near the Disneyland park. I went to that trade show starting in 1983 and began to get to know some of the ASCCA members. In 1987, ASCCA honored me (at the time not even a member) for earning the top score in the state of California on the ASE tests. I still display that plaque on my wall, one of my proudest achievements. We joined ASCCA in 1989 to take advantage of the workers comp program, which at that time had a great rebate program through State Fund. But I soon came to see the value was in the interaction and the information sharing. Training opportunities, plusses and minuses of this and that, pending laws, all of this is still a very valuable part of the membership that non-member shops mostly miss out on. New ASCCA members should get on TeamTalk. Get to the Team Weekends if you can and get to know other ASCCA members. I lament that we can no longer afford to run those trade shows like we once did (I understand the changes that have taken place that prevent it) but I advise new members to get to know the old-timers and learn from them.
ASCCA members like Phil are shining examples of how One Member CAN Make a Difference!
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Auto Sales Expected to Hit 16.4 Million
The U.S. Auto industry new-vehicle sales in 2014 will hit their highest level since 2006 as consumers continue to replace aging cars and trucks. Edmunds.com forecast that sales next year will hit 16.4 million vehicles, up from an estimated 15.5 million the company expects in 2013 and the highest total since 16.5 million were sold in 2006. However, the projected six percent growth rate would be the industry's smallest increase since sales bottomed out at 10.4 million vehicles in 2009.
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| Thank You ASCCA Diamond Sponsors! |
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About Us
Founded in 1940, the Automotive Service Councils of California is the largest independent automotive repair organization in California. Its members represent all areas of the automotive repair industry, including mechanical, auto body, suppliers and educators.
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