Advocacy for Occupational Safety & Health
Kazan McClain Satterly & Greenwood (Kazan Law) believes in keeping all workers safe from all types of workplace situations that threaten their safety and well-being. We created Occupational Safety & Health (OSH) to help advocate for workers rights. OSH goes beyond aiding those who have already been injured by hazardous or negligent practices. We believe the key to winning the battle against occupational hazards is helping to prevent workplace tragedies.
We participate in community and workplace efforts to:
- Identify hazards,
- Inform community members and workers of their rights, and
- Make sure that the law protects these rights.
We work with organizations that represent the interests of working people, such as the AFL-CIO and Worksafe, and with government agencies mandated to protect the safety and health of working people, such as the Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA), Federal OSHA, and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH).
We support numerous organizations that advocate on behalf of citizens and workers. We donate staff time to making sure that workers are protected from health and safety hazards. Some of the occupational safety and health efforts in which Kazan Law has been involved include:
- Providing assistance to:
- The Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO), a national advocacy organization concerned about the hazard of asbestos
- Worksafe, a California-based organization dedicated to eliminating all types of workplace hazards
- Providing training and technical assistance to:
- Community groups concerned about the hazards of lead, asbestos and/or other toxins in their communities and schools
- Injured worker groups concerned about ergonomic hazards and the workers’ compensation system
- Labor unions on a variety of issues
- Providing pro bono occupational safety and health advocacy by working closely with the California Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO, labor unions, and various community and injured worker groups, to assure increased occupational safety and health protection for workers. This work includes:
- Drafting and supporting legislation and regulations to protect worker health and safety, including participating in specific advisory committees that develop regulations to protect workers from the hazards related to lead, asbestos, falls, and rebar; and regulations that provide for injury and illness prevention programs and ergonomics programs.
- Litigating to develop new and improve existing Cal/OSHA regulations, including asbestos, ergonomics, and multi-employer worksite regulations.
- Promoting safety on multi-employer worksites by initiating and successfully concluding a CASPA (complaint against a state plan agency) against Cal/OSHA to challenge an inadequate regulation of multi-employer worksites. This resulted in a multi-employer worksite regulation and legislation to assure that Cal/OSHA would issue citations against all employers at a multi-employer site including controlling employers, employers who create or fail to correct hazards, as well as employers who expose their workers to unsafe conditions. The law we wrote assures that all employers are responsible for the safety and health of all workers on a jobsite; and
- monitoring Cal/OSHA including participating in various Cal/OSHA Advisory Committee meetings.
Questions about Asbestos Exposure?
Kazan McClain Satterly & Greenwood represents workers who have been harmed by asbestos in the workplace.We have special expertise in asbestos related diseases and you may find out more from these fact sheets:
- What is Asbestos?(pdf)
- What You Should Do for Medical Care if You have been Exposed to Asbestos?(pdf)
- Asbestos Handout – Where Might I Find Asbestos in my Home?(pdf)
- Asbestos Handout – What Building Materials may Contain Asbestos?(pdf)
Click here for detailed advice about asbestos.