California Contractor · Law & Business

Cal/OSHA exam preparation: injury reporting, trench safety and fall protection

Prepare for Cal/OSHA questions on serious injuries, trench safety, fall protection and the Injury and Illness Prevention Program.

Safety questions reward attention to the situation. A number can be correct for one operation and wrong for another. Learn both the threshold and the conditions that make it apply.

Cal/OSHA’s 8-hour reporting rule

An employer must report a qualifying serious occupational injury, illness or death to Cal/OSHA immediately, as soon as practically possible, and no later than eight hours after knowing or having reason to know. Justified exigent circumstances can extend that period to 24 hours. ^S14

Do not use an outdated requirement that hospitalization must last 24 hours. The current definition includes qualifying inpatient hospitalization other than medical observation or diagnostic testing, amputation, loss of an eye and serious permanent disfigurement. ^S15

At what depth is shoring required in California?

Shoring is one form of cave-in protection, not the only one. Cave-in protection generally applies unless the excavation is entirely in stable rock or is less than five feet deep and a competent person finds no indication of a potential cave-in. A shallow trench is therefore not automatically safe. ^S17

For trenches four feet or deeper, safe egress must require no more than 25 feet of lateral travel. Excavated material and equipment that could fall into the excavation need the required setback, generally two feet, or suitable retaining protection. ^S16

Avoid a universal fall-height rule

California construction standards address different activities separately. The 7½-foot thresholds in particular rules are not permission to ignore hazards below that height or standards applying to other work. Identify the activity in the question, then check which protective system the relevant standard requires. ^S18

A written Injury and Illness Prevention Program is another core obligation. It must function in practice through responsibilities, hazard identification, correction and training. Permits for specified construction activities are a separate issue; not every activity above 36 feet follows the same permit rule. ^{S19, S20}

Build your study cards around a situation, the responsible person and the required action. That teaches a usable safety decision rather than an isolated number.

Cal/OSHA’s 8-hour reporting rule

At what depth is shoring required in California?

Avoid a universal fall-height rule

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