Appeals Board in California Defines How Close Water Must be for Workers

The California Department of Industrial Relations’ Occupational Safety and Health Appeals Board issued a decision related to the provision of water at outdoor worksites, which required water must be as close as practicable to the areas where employees are working.

The case clarified the definition of what “as close as practicable” means with water placement at the workplace.

Cal/OSHA opened a safety inspection at the Rios Farming Co. vineyard in St. Helena in 2018. Inspectors reportedly found some workers had to climb through multiple grape trellises to get water. On Jan. 7, 2019, Cal/OSHA cited Rios Farming Co. for a repeat-serious violation for not having water as close as practicable for employees. Rios Farming appealed the citation, and an administrative law judge affirmed the citation on Oct. 12, 2022, assesing a modified penalty of $27,000.

OSHAB’s decision clarifies that “as close as practicable” meabs water must be as close as reasonably can be accomplished to encourage frequent water consumption.

In the Rios Farming case, the judge found, and the OSHAB affirmed, that the trellises were an obstacle that discouraged employees from frequently drinking water. The judge and board further found that other options were available to the employer, such as providing a jug of water in each row where the employees were working or providing individual water bottles that employees could carry with them and refill from the jugs.

The California Division of Occupational Safety and Health, or Cal/OSHA, is a division within the Department of Industrial Relations designed to help protect workers from health and safety hazards on the job. The Occupational Safety and Health Appeals Board is a three-member judicial body appointed by the governor to handle appeals from private and public-sector employers regarding OSHA citations.