Liz Ortega — Liz Ortega is repeatedly thanked and credited for bringing forward the audit request last year and for being a strong advocate on the issue, especially in relation to labor concerns.
Liz Ortega — Liz Ortega was praised for her leadership, work, passion, and commitment to change on the issue.
Liz Ortega — Liz Ortega is referenced as one of the committee chairs and as the chair who requested an audit of Cal/OSHA. The discussion explains that her request raised concerns about Cal/OSHA’s investigation practices and asked the auditor to evaluate structural deficiencies and accountability mechanisms in Cal/OSHA’s processes for protecting workers.
Liz Ortega — Liz Ortega is addressed as Vice Chair/Vice Chairwoman during the discussion, with the speaker thanking her and posing a question in the same exchange.
Liz Ortega — Praised for work in this area.
Liz Ortega — Chairwoman Ortega was directly addressed and thanked for her leadership and for providing the report/update.
Liz Ortega — Commended for initiating much of the work that has been accomplished over the last couple of years.
Liz Ortega — Referred to as Chair Ortega and thanked for presiding over the hearing.
Liz Ortega — Liz Ortega is acknowledged for chairing and helping bring together the February 2020 informational hearing, with the speaker thanking Chairwoman Ortega for organizing the event and recognizing her leadership in convening the discussion.
Mr. Parks — The state auditor is asked to keep the presentation to 15 minutes if possible, with flexibility for more time.
Mr. Parks — Thanked for the audit report and staff work.
Mr. Parks — Invited to join the table and begin the presentation.
Director Osborne — Acknowledged for attending the hearing.
Chief Lee — Acknowledged for attending the hearing.
Chief Lee — Referenced as having made prior comments about recruitment and hiring.
Sharon Quirk-Silva — The speaker appears to be addressing or referring to Chairwoman Ortega and then Chairwoman Smallwood-Cuevas; the transcript likely misidentifies the speaker as 'Chairwoman Smallwood-Cuevas.'
Nick Versace — Identified as senior auditor/evaluator who led the audit work.
Nick Versace — Nick Versace is identified as the audit team leader and then speaks to introduce himself as the project team lead. He goes on to explain how Cal/OSHA determines whether to conduct on-site inspections or use letter investigations, noting that letter investigations are used most of the time.
Grant Parks — Introduces himself as State Auditor and begins the presentation.
John Harabedian — Addressed as one of the committee chairs; transcript misspells his name as 'Herabedian.'
Mr. Versace — The speaker thanks Mr. Versace for his work on the audit.
Monique Limón — A legislator addresses the witness and references Senator Laird's earlier question about vacancy rates. The name 'Smallwood-Cuevas' appears, but the exact speaker identity is uncertain from the transcript alone.
Mark González — Assembly Member Calra thanks the chairs, staff, and the auditor, including Chair Ortega for forwarding the audit request, then continues with follow-up questions about fines and penalties, asking how long the fines have been at their current level and where the revenue from those fines goes.
Rhodesia Ransom — Assembly Member Ransom continues a brief line of questioning and comment in the hearing, first asking whether workers can participate in settlement reduction discussions and then, in the same exchange, thanking the chairs and Assembly Member Ortega while raising concerns about information systems and tracking.
Rhodesia Ransom — Senator Ransom is called on to speak next and begins brief remarks.
State auditor — The speaker refers to the auditor's analysis and asks whether the issue is staffing or failure to follow policies.
Jennifer Osborne — Jennifer Osborne, newly appointed Director of the Department of Industrial Relations/Cal-OSHA leadership, gives a continuous opening response to the audit. She introduces herself and her background, then outlines Cal/OSHA’s efforts to reduce vacancies through aggressive hiring, a dedicated recruitment and retention unit, outreach to schools and universities, and coordination with CalHR on classification and compensation issues. She then shifts to policy and procedure improvements, including hiring the agency’s first policy writer, updating seven policies and procedures, notifying staff, and conducting periodic internal audits. Osborne explains complaint-handling controls, the purpose of letter inspections for non-serious hazards, and the need for clearer guidance. She next describes Cal/OSHA’s new data management system, its development status, and the broader need to modernize operations given the agency’s workload. She also discusses proactive inspections in high-hazard industries, consultation and compliance assistance, and outreach efforts such as the Alliance program and the California Workplace Outreach Project. Osborne concludes by introducing colleagues who will assist with questions and begins responding to a question about vacancies and recruitment challenges.
Deborah Lee — Deborah Lee, Chief of Cal/OSHA, is introduced and then delivers her opening remarks. She identifies herself, discusses her background and role, acknowledges the audit findings, and outlines Cal/OSHA’s priorities for improving worker protection and employer safety. She also notes that two documents were provided in advance of the hearing summarizing Cal/OSHA’s actions to address the audit findings and recommendations.
Deborah Lee — Thanked by the chair as part of the transition to questions.
David Wesley — Identified as Deputy Chief of Cal/OSHA Enforcement and introduced to assist with questions.
David Wesley — Introduces himself as Deputy Chief for Cal/OSHA enforcement and explains the letter process.
Andrew Collada — Identified as Chief of Administration and introduced to assist with questions.
Andrew Kalata — The speaker passed the discussion to Andrew Kalata to provide details on the vacancy rate.
Andrew Kallad — Identified himself as chief of administration at DIR and said he oversees personnel and human resources.
Deborah — Deborah was invited to comment further on the department's mission.
Cecilia Aguiar-Curry — Referred to as 'my colleague from the Assembly,' likely the member who raised the role of workers in the process.
Ms. Lee — Referenced as the person whose appointment in 2024 and confirmation earlier this year were known to the speaker.
Gregg Hart — The speaker is identified in the transcript as Senator Cortese, likely referring to Senator Dave Cortese, and he opened a new round of questions.
Melissa Hurtado — Referenced as the Senate Agricultural Chair who participated in a prior virtual hearing.
James Gallagher — A continuous exchange with Senator Cortese about the audit’s case review methodology and how it handled situations involving non-responsive complainants and employers. The discussion asks whether such cases were found in the file review, notes that the sample included 60 cases, and clarifies that the speaker is not taking liberties in framing the issue.
Nick, audit team leader — Referenced as the audit team leader who would answer detailed questions about the case file review.
Sade Elhawary — Addressed by the speaker as 'Assembly Member' in the closing thanks.
Elmer Lazzardi — Named as a witness on the third panel, affiliated with the California Federation of Labor Unions.
Elmer Lazzardi — Referenced as having just spoken about employers gaming the system.
Stephen Knight — Named as a witness on the third panel, affiliated with WorkSafe.
Stephen Knight — Stephen Knight, Executive Director of WorkSafe, delivers a continuous statement arguing that California workers need stronger protection through a better-resourced and more proactive Cal/OSHA. He says workplace safety is ultimately the employer’s responsibility, but employers often game the system and workers fear retaliation or exposure, especially amid ICE raids and other pressures. He calls for more staffing, more on-site inspections instead of letter investigations, stronger enforcement and consequences for employers, worker rights education, and legislative action to strengthen Cal/OSHA so it can better protect workers and address emerging hazards, including climate-related risks.
Robert Mutry — Named as a witness on the third panel, affiliated with the CalChamber.
Mr. Lazzardi — The chair turns the floor over to Mr. Lazzardi for opening remarks.
Omar Lazzardi — Omar Lazzardi, a legislative advocate with the California Federation of Labor Unions, testifies about the need to strengthen workplace safety enforcement in California. He cites a fatal forklift incident where an employer still received reduced penalties, arguing that weak penalties and inspections encourage employers to keep cutting corners. He supports stronger accountability measures, including Chair Ortega’s idea to increase criminal prosecution, and says workers are increasingly afraid to come forward or file complaints. He also emphasizes long-standing union concerns about expedited hiring and broader understaffing/workload problems that undermine enforcement and retention. He closes by offering the unions’ partnership to help improve worker health and safety.
AB694 — Referenced as a reform proposal advancing in the Legislature to help open up Cal/OSHA hiring.