Workers have the right to a safe workplace under both state and federal laws. In California,Cal/OSHA sets and enforces standards that spell out in detail what employers must do to keep the workplace safe. The health and safety rights workers have can be put into three categories:
The Right to Know
This is the right to get specific information from your employer about the hazards found in your workplace. Workers must be informed about the products with which they are working, their effects on workers’ health, how to handle them properly, etc. Workers also have a right to know the laws that protect them. Several Cal/OSHA standards give you this right.
The Right to Protection
In California every employer is required to provide a safe and healthful workplace for employees. Your employer must try to reduce or eliminate hazards by all possible means. If a hazard can’t be eliminated completely, then your employer must protect you from it by supplying special equipment like respirators, protective clothing, goggles, gloves, safety shoes, or fall protection devices.
Cal/OSHA has many standards that regulate specific hazards. These tell employers what steps they must take to minimize those hazards for workers. Examples include the Lead in Construction standard and the Bloodborne Pathogens standard. (See Factsheet O, Cal/OSHA Standards.)
The Right to Act
This is your right to speak up and take action to improve health and safety conditions at work. It includes the right to make a complaint to Cal/OSHA or other agencies, the right to discuss health and safety problems with your supervisor or manager without fear of discrimination, the right to refuse unsafe work, and the right to get health and safety information from the employer.
These rights are enforced by Cal/OSHA, the California Division of Labor Standards Enforcement (Labor Commissioner), or the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB)
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