Every company in Californiamust create an Illness and Injury Prevention Program (IIPP), which essentially contains a generalized plan for keeping its workforce free from work-related injuries and illnesses. For companies with more than 10 employees, the plan must be in writing. Cal/OSHA states that it could assess a $7,000 fine for employers not having an IIPP. See the Cal/OSHA Division of Occupational Safety and Health Injury and Illness Prevention Program eTools webpage for information on IIPPs as well as three sample model programs.
If an insured organization has an experience modification factor of 2.0 or greater, the workers' compensation insurer must review the organization's IIPP within six months of the initial policy term.1The experience modification rate is an adjustment that an insurer makes to the workers' compensation insurance premium of organizations that meet or exceed a certain size. Insurers assign an experience modification factor to each insured company. The experience modification factor is based on organization size.
Do I Need an IIPP?
Yes. Every employer must have an IIPP. Some employers may have different written IIPP requirements, as discussed in this section. You may be exempt from some of the written record keeping requirements if you are an establishment:
- With fewer than 20 employees during the calendar year, in an industry that is not on the designated high hazard list and you have a Workers' Compensation Experience Modification Rate (ExMod) of 1.1 percent or less
- With fewer than 20 employees during the calendar year and on a designated list of low hazard industries
If you fall into one of these two categories, you can limit written documentation of the IIPP to the following information:
- The identity of the people with authority and responsibility for program implementation, as required by Title 8 of the California Code of Regulations, sec. 3203 (a)(1)
- Scheduled periodic inspections to identify unsafe conditions and work practices, as required by Title 8 of the California Code of Regulations, sec. 3203 (a)(4)
- Training and instruction provided to employees, as required by Title 8 of the California Code of Regulations, sec. 3203 (a)(7)
Local government entities are not required to keep records of the steps they take to implement and maintain their IIPPs. Local government entities include:
- Counties, cities and, districts
- Public or quasi-public corporations
- Public agencies
- Any public entity, other than a state agency, that is a member of or created by a joint powers agreement
Must I Create a Written IIPP?
Yes. All employers must have a written IIPP.
Your plan must specify:
- Management's approval of the plan
- The people responsible for implementing the plan
- A company safety policy statement
- A system to identify workplace hazards
- A plan for periodic scheduled inspections
- A plan for investigating injuries
- A plan for safety training
- How you will communicate with employees about safety
- The record keeping and posting requirements and any exceptions to them
- If you employ fewer than 10 employees, you must still have a written IIPP; however, you can:
- Communicate to and instruct employees orally about safe work practices.
- Choose to maintain records of inspections only until the hazards identified are corrected.
- Document training by maintaining an instruction log that you provide to a new employee or to an employee reassigned to new duties.
- Seasonal employers can use a model program designed specifically for seasonal employers, available at: Injury & Illness Prevention Model Program for Employers with Intermittant Employees.
Must I Provide Training?
Yes. Training is required when you:
- Implement your IIPP
- Assign a new employee to a position
- Transfer an existing employee to a new position
- Make changes to workplace conditions
Provide refresher training as necessary
Must I Provide Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)?
You must provide Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) only if other standards require you to supply equipment to protect your employees. For example, you may need to meet standards that govern chemical use or certain types of machinery.
PPE includes items such as gloves, masks and special clothing used to protect against hazardous, toxic or infectious materials.
Do I Have to Perform Inspections?
Yes. You can choose the frequency, depending on how hazardous your work environment is.
Must I Record and/or Report Anything?
Yes. Any injury that requires medical treatment beyond first aid and all occupational illnesses must be investigated, recorded and reported. You can use the Accident, Injury and Illness Investigation form to help you document the incident.
We can create your very own IIPP that is tailored specifically to your business and industry.
We help business become compliant by developing and implementing their IIPP plan.