DIVISION OF OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH
POLICY AND PROCEDURES MANUAL

SPECIAL ORDER

P&P C-3
Issue Date: 2/1/87
Revised: 8/1/94,
7/1/95, 4/14/08, 11/7/08, 2/29/12

AUTHORITY: California Labor Code Sec. 6305(b), 6308(c) and 6600.5 and Title 8 of the California Code of Regulations Sec. 332.2 and 332.4.

POLICY: It is the policy of the Division of Occupational Safety and Health to consider issuance of a Special Order to correct an unsafe condition, device, or place of employment which poses a threat to the health or safety of an employee and which cannot be made safe under an existing Title 8 Safety Order.

PROCEDURES:

A. USE AND APPLICATION

  1. Use

    A Special Order (Cal/OSHA Form 3) is an Order written by the Chief of the Division of Occupational Safety and Health, or his or her authorized representative, to remedy an unsafe condition, device, or place of employment which poses a threat to the health or safety of an employee, and which cannot be made safe under an existing Title 8 Safety Order.

  2. Application

    A Special Order shall have the same effect as any other Title 8 Safety Order, but shall apply only to the employment or place of employment specified in the Special Order.

B. HAZARD IDENTIFICATION AND DOCUMENTATION

  1. During the course of an inspection or investigation, if compliance personnel identify an unsafe condition, device or place of employment which poses a threat to the health or safety of an employee and to which no existing Title 8 Safety Order can be applied, compliance personnel shall determine whether circumstances support issuance of a Special Order.

  2. If the hazard identified to which no existing Title 8 Safety Order can be applied involves a serious health- related condition, compliance personnel shall contact the Medical Unit to determine the need for on-site Medical Unit involvement in the inspection or investigation. If it is determined that on-site Medical Unit evaluation of the hazard is necessary, compliance personnel shall follow the referral procedures set forth in P&P C-90 to obtain a Medical Unit referral. See P&P C-90.

C. INITIAL PREPARATION

  1. Prior to preparing a Special Order for issuance to the employer, compliance personnel shall first inform the District Manager that a hazardous condition has been identified to which no existing Title 8 Safety Order can be applied and that a Special Order may need to be issued.

  2. The District Manager shall then review the documentation provided by compliance personnel, including the Cal/OSHA Form 1B, to verify that the identified hazardous condition is one to which no existing Title 8 Safety Order can be applied.

    NOTE: If assistance is required to make a determination about the applicability of an existing Title 8 Safety Order, the District Manager shall consult with the Regional Senior Safety Engineer or Regional Senior Industrial Hygienist, or with personnel in any other appropriate administrative unit of the Division, e.g., Medical Unit, Crane Unit, Research and Standards, Occupational Carcinogen Control Unit or Legal Unit.

  3. After the District Manager verifies that a Special Order should be issued, compliance personnel shall prepare a draft of the Special Order according to instructions found in Section I of this P&P and the documentation on the Cal/OSHA Form 1B.

D. REVIEW

  1. District Manager

    After compliance personnel prepare a draft of the Special Order, the District Manager shall review the draft, approve the Special Order for issuance and forward a copy of the draft Special Order to the Regional Manager.

  2. Regional Manager

    1. The Regional Manager shall review the draft Special Order and approve the Special Order for issuance.

    2. If approved, the Regional Manager shall forward the draft Special Order to the Chief of the Division for approval and entry into the Special Order Log.

      NOTE: At Headquarters, the draft Special Order shall be reviewed, as appropriate, by the Deputy Chief for Field Operations, the Deputy Chief for Health and Technical Services, the Legal Unit and any other person deemed appropriate by the Chief.

  3. Request for New, or Change in Existing, Safety Order

    1. When appropriate, compliance personnel shall prepare a Cal/OSHA Form 9 requesting that the Division propose a new safety order for adoption consideration by the Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board relating to the hazard identified in the Special Order, or that a change of an existing Safety Order be proposed, by completing a Cal/OSHA Form 9 and submitting it to the District Manager for approval. See P&P C-9.

    2. If the Cal/OSHA Form 9 is approved, the District Manager shall forward the Form 9 with the draft Special Order to the Regional Manager for review and approval.

E. ISSUANCE

  1. Final Version

    After the draft Special Order has been approved for issuance by the Chief, compliance personnel shall prepare the final version of the Special Order for issuance to the employer incorporating any changes requested by the Chief.

  2. Office Issuance

    All Special Orders shall be office-issued to the employer via Certified Mail--Return Receipt Requested or a copy given to the employer, or the employer's representative, during the Closing Conference together with the Declaration of Service.

    EXCEPTION: When an imminent hazard exists and an Order Prohibiting Use has been issued, compliance personnel may issue a Special Order in the field, along with a Declaration of Service, when there is no existing Safety Order which applies to the imminent hazard, but only after obtaining telephonic approval to field issue the Order from the District Manager.

  3. Closing Conference

    During the Closing Conference, compliance personnel shall inform the employer who has been issued a Special Order of the following:

    1. No civil penalties are imposed by the Division in conjunction with issuance of the Special Order.

    2. The employer is required to:

      1. Post the Special Order at or near the referenced site of the hazardous condition giving rise to the Order;

      2. Position the Special Order so as to be easily read by employees working nearby; and

      3. Maintain the posting for a period of three working days or until the unsafe condition is abated, whichever is longer.

    3. The employer has the right to appeal the action ordered by the Division in the Special Order, the abatement periods specified by the Division in the Order, or the reasonableness of the corrective changes required by the Division in the Order by notifying the Occupational Safety and Health Appeals Board in Sacramento within 15 working days of receipt of the Special Order.

F. FOLLOW-UP INSPECTIONS

Compliance personnel shall conduct a follow-up inspection of the establishment of each employer who is issued a Special Order. See P&P C-15.

G. OFFICE PROCEDURES

  1. The final version of the Special Order which is issued to the employer shall be typewritten or computer- printed by the preparer, e.g., Office Support Staff or compliance personnel.

    NOTE: The Cal/OSHA Form 3X shall be used for the second and each succeeding page of the Special Order.

  2. Office Support Staff shall mail all Special Orders which are office-issued to the employer via Certified Mail--Return Receipt Requested.

  3. When a Special Order is field-issued, compliance personnel shall prepare the Special Order using carbon paper to produce a copy. The copy shall be issued to the employer, or the employer's representative, together with the Declaration of Service. Compliance personnel shall return the original to the District Office. Office Support Staff shall then mail a copy of the field-issued Special Order to the employer via Certified Mail--Return Receipt Requested.

  4. Office Support Staff shall data enter into IMIS all Special Orders from the Cal/OSHA Form 1B.

    NOTE: All Special Orders shall be data-entered into IMIS as a Serious violation.

H. FORM DISTRIBUTION

  1. Office Support Staff shall file a copy of the Special Order in the employer's case file and send a copy of any field-issued Special Order to the Chief of the Division together with any attached Cal/OSHA Form 9.

  2. Office Support Staff shall also file a copy of the Special Order in the District Office's pend file to expedite a follow-up inspection based on the Special Order.

I. FORM COMPLETION

  1. District Office

    Enter the name, address and telephone number of the issuing District Office.

  2. Employer Address

    Enter the name and mailing address of the employer.

  3. Page Number

    Enter the page number, e.g., 1 of 3. Use the Cal/OSHA Form 3X for additional pages.

  4. Special Order Number

    Enter the Special Order Log Number provided by the Chief of the Division. Each Special Order has a unique Log Number.

    EXCEPTION: When a Special Order is issued in the field, the Special Order Number entry may be left blank.

  5. Worksite Inspected, Inspecting CSE/IH and Inspection Date

    Enter the address of the worksite inspected, the name of the inspecting compliance personnel and the date the inspection was conducted.

  6. Item Number and Number of Instances

    1. Item Number

      Enter an item number.

      NOTE: Each Special Order shall cover only one Item. If more than one Item is subject to a Special Order, compliance personnel shall complete additional Special Orders.

    2. Number of Instances

      Enter the number of instances of the item.

  7. Basis of the Special Order -- Labor Code Provision

    Enter Labor Code §6401.

    NOTE: Labor Code §6305 represents a definitional section only and should not be used as the sole legal basis for a Special Order.

  8. Special Order

    Enter the text of the Special Order.

  9. Abatement Date

    Enter the date fixed for compliance with the provisions of the Special Order.

  10. Signatures and Date of Issuance

    Enter the signature of the issuing compliance personnel and the District Manager together with the date of issuance.

  11. Region, District, ID Number, Optional Report Number and Cal/OSHA Form 1 Number

    Enter the Region and District number, the ID Number of the issuing compliance personnel, the Optional Report Number and the preprinted nine-digit Cal/OSHA Form 1 number.

Attachments:

  1. Cal/OSHA 3
  2. Cal/OSHA 3X