California Labor Code 6505.5 – (a) The division may, upon good cause shown, and after notice to …
(a) The division may, upon good cause shown, and after notice to the employer or contractor by the division and an opportunity to be heard, revoke or suspend any registration issued to the employer or contractor to do asbestos-related work until certain specified written conditions are met.
(b) Any person who owns a commercial or industrial building or structure, any employer who engages in or contracts for asbestos-related work, any contractor, public agency, or any employee acting for any of the foregoing, who, contracts for, or who begins, asbestos-related work in any commercial or industrial building or structure built prior to 1978 without first determining if asbestos-containing material is present, and thereby fails to comply with the applicable laws and regulations, is subject to one of the following penalties:
Terms Used In California Labor Code 6505.5
- Agency: means the Labor and Workforce Development Agency. See California Labor Code 18.5
- Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
- County: includes "city and county. See California Labor Code 14
- Division: means the Division of Occupational Safety and Health. See California Labor Code 6302
- Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
- Person: means any person, association, organization, partnership, business trust, limited liability company, or corporation. See California Labor Code 18
- Serious exposure: means any exposure of an employee to a hazardous substance when the exposure occurs as a result of an incident, accident, emergency, or exposure over time and is in a degree or amount sufficient to create a realistic possibility that death or serious physical harm in the future could result from the actual hazard created by the exposure. See California Labor Code 6302
- Serious injury or illness: means any injury or illness occurring in a place of employment or in connection with any employment that requires inpatient hospitalization, for other than medical observation or diagnostic testing, or in which an employee suffers an amputation, the loss of an eye, or any serious degree of permanent disfigurement, but does not include any injury or illness or death caused by an accident on a public street or highway, unless the accident occurred in a construction zone. See California Labor Code 6302
- Violation: includes a failure to comply with any requirement of the code. See California Labor Code 22
(1) For a knowing or negligent violation, a fine of not more than five thousand dollars ($5,000) or imprisonment in the county jail for not more than six months, or both the fine and imprisonment.
(2) For a willful violation which results in death, serious injury or illness, or serious exposure, a fine of not more than ten thousand dollars ($10,000) or imprisonment in the county jail for not more than one year, or both the fine and imprisonment. A second or subsequent conviction under this paragraph may be punishable by a fine of not more than twenty thousand dollars ($20,000) or by imprisonment in the county jail for not more than one year, or by both the fine and imprisonment.
(c) It is a defense to an action for violation of this section if the owner, contractor, employer, public agency, or agent thereof, proves, by a preponderance of the evidence, that he or she made a reasonable effort to determine whether asbestos was present.
(Amended by Stats. 2017, Ch. 28, Sec. 33. (SB 96) Effective June 27, 2017.)