Blogs

By: @Aaron Avery

The California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH), better known as Cal/OSHA, has opened public comment on a proposed rulemaking concerning a “Walkaround Rule.” The proposed regulation would define and specify procedures for who is a representative authorized by employees who shall be given an opportunity to accompany a Cal/OSHA representative during the inspection of any workplace (quite literally “walking around” with the inspector). Under the proposed regulation, the representative(s) authorized by employees may be an employee of the employer, a third party, or the collective bargaining representative, as specified. According to Cal/OSHA, under Cal/OSHA’s current regulations, workplace inspections typically include an employer representative during the “walkaround”, but not an employee representative. Employee representatives are typically involved only in unionized workplaces. Cal/OSHA contends that employee representatives, even outside of unionized workplaces, may help the inspections based on their familiarity with the workforce, knowledge of the worksite, or for their expertise in other relevant areas. Further, according to Cal/OSHA, third party employee representatives may be helpful during worksite inspections where the Cal/OSHA may need more expertise as to the industry, the worksite, and specific work processes, or assistance in communicating effectively with the employees.

Additional information can be found at https://www.dir.ca.gov/dosh/doshreg/Employer-and-Employee-Reps-During-Workplace-Inspections/. The Notice of the proposed rulemaking can be found here, the proposed text of the regulation can be found here, and the initial statement of reasons can be found here.  

Special districts seeking to provide written comments on the proposed regulation must do so by 11:59 PM on April 1, 2026, the close of the comment period. Email written comments to walkaroundrule@dir.ca.gov or mail or hand deliver them to:

Silas Shawver
Staff Counsel, Cal/OSHA Legal Unit
1515 Clay Street, Suite 1901
Oakland, CA 94612.

All comments must be received by the deadline. For emailed comments, please use “Employer Representative and Representative Authorized by Employees” as the regulation identifier in the subject line.

Special districts may also provide verbal comments during a public hearing on Wednesday, April 1, 2026, from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. The meeting will be held via videoconference at https://tkoworks.zoom.us/j/86289478639 and will be accessible by telephone at: +1 669 900 6833 (meeting ID: 862 8947 8639).