Cal. Dept. of Industrial Relations v. AC Transit

(CA1/4 A142799 8/13/18) Non-Air Conditioned Buses.Outdoor Places of Employment

In this appeal, we consider a narrow question of regulatory interpretation:  Can the interior of a non-air-conditioned bus be deemed an “outdoor place of employment” for purposes of the heat illness prevention standards promulgated by the California Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board (Standards Board) as stated in section 3395 of title 8 of the California Code of Regulations (section 3395)?  After the Department of Industrial Relation’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Division) cited the Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District (AC Transit) for several violations of section 3395 involving its non-air-conditioned buses, AC Transit sought administrative review, arguing, among other things, that the buses were not “outdoor” places of employment for purposes of the heat illness prevention regulation.  The Occupational Safety and Health Appeals Board (Appeals Board) ultimately agreed, affirming the dismissal of the appealed-from violations by one of its administrative law judges (ALJ).  However, after the Division filed a petition for writ of mandate in the trial court disputing this decision, the trial court determined that the Appeals Board’s definition of “outdoor” was too narrow and issued a peremptory writ of mandate instructing the Appeals Board to reconsider the matter using a broader definition of outdoor that could include non-air-conditioned vehicles.  Both AC Transit and the Appeals Board appealed.  We conclude—based upon our independent analysis of the question—that the trial court’s construction of section 3395 is well supported both by the language of the regulation and by its related regulatory history.  We therefore remand the matter for further proceedings consistent with our analysis.

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