California Employment and Workplace Safety Regulations

Vocabulary terms covering California labor laws, safety standards, public agencies, and workplace regulations.

Division of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH)

Often wrongly referred to as Cal/OSHA, the division of the DIR that enforces California's occupational and public safety laws and provides information and consultative assistance to employers, workers, and the public about workplace and public safety matters.

Division of Workers' Compensation (DWC)

California's division that administers workers' compensation laws, benefits, information, and assistance to injured workers.

Drug-Free Workplace Act

California's Drug-Free Workplace Act of 1990 is similar to the federal act, but applies only to people or businesses receiving grants or that have government contracts.

Employment Development Department (EDD)

A department that deals with unemployment, state disability, workforce investment, and labor market information programs. It collects and audits payroll taxes, maintains employment records, and requires employers to report information pertaining to their employees.

Ergonomics

Study of how to improve the fit between the physical demands of the workplace and the employees who perform the work.

Essential Job Functions

Duties crucial to a job such that the position exists to perform the job function.

Exempt

Salaried employees that are exempt from the California IWC orders.

Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA)

A California act that prohibits discrimination and harassment on the basis of California's many protected categories.

Fraud (Workers' Compensation)

Any knowingly false statement either by the employee or employer regarding workers' compensation.

Garnishment

Deductions from an employee paycheck mandated by a state or federal court.

General Industry Safety Orders (GISO)

Safety orders whose purpose is to fulfill the expressed social public policy of the State of California to make full provision for securing safety in places of employment.

Gratuity

Payment in the form of a 'tip' over and above the regular charge by a customer.

Hazard Evaluation System and Information Services (HESIS)

An entity that offers California employers and employees answers to questions about the health effects of chemical and physical agents in the workplace.

Health Insurance Premium Payment Program (HIPP)

A California program that requires all employers to provide exiting employees with notice of a state program that pays COBRA payments under certain circumstances.

Heat Illness

A spectrum of disorders due to environmental exposure to heat, ranging from minor conditions such as heat cramps, heat syncope, and heat exhaustion to the more severe condition known as heat stroke.

Imminent Danger

An immediate threat of harm, which varies depending on the context in which it is used (such as mine conditions or practices reasonably expected to cause death or serious physical harm before elimination).

Implied Contract

A legally enforceable agreement that arises from conduct, assumed intentions, relationships among parties, or the legal principle of equity; opposite of express contract.

Independent Contractor

An individual who is not an employee of the service-recipient, receives compensation or executes a contract for services, and is controlled by the principal as to the result of work only and not as to the means used.

Industrial Welfare Commission (IWC)

A commission established in 1913 to regulate wages, hours, and working conditions in the State of California.

Injury Illness Prevention Program (IIPP)

A required program for all California employers that describes employer responsibilities in establishing, implementing, and maintaining a system to ensure employee workplace safety and health.

Invention Assignment Agreement

An agreement between an employer and employee where the employee agrees that anything created on behalf of the company (on the company's dime) will be owned by the company.

Investigative Consumer Reporting Agencies Act (ICRAA)

A statute focusing on the type of information an organization can request from and about an applicant, and the requirements that must be followed when utilizing that information to make employment decisions.

IWC Wage Orders

The 17 California wage orders that regulate wages, hours, and working conditions.

Kin Care

A California law requiring employers to allow employees to use half of their sick leave to care for a sick child or family member.

Living Wage

A wage that is high enough to maintain a normal standard of living.

Makeup time

Time missed that employees may make up without requiring overtime pay, as specified by IWC orders.

Medical Provider Network (MPN)

A group of health-care providers approved by the Division of Workers' Compensation Administration Director, established by an insurer or self-insured employer to treat workers injured on the job.