California Implements New Safety Regulations for Hotel Workers

California's Occupational Safety and Health Organization (Cal/OSHA) has implemented a new standard to protect hotel workers from injury.

When you think of high-risk industries in which to work, hotel and hospitality probably isn't at the top of your list. After all, how many hotel workers are actually injured on the job? While the number pales in comparison to injury rates in the construction industry, hotel workers are still experiencing high rates of injury, which is why Cal/OSHA has implemented new safety regulations.

So, what does the new standard require of hotel employers? The most significant specification of Cal/OSHA's new regulation is the implementation of a Musculoskeletal Injury Prevention Program (MIPP). All employers of hotel and hospitality businesses in California must now implement a MIPP to product workers from MSDs.

As you may also known, MSDs are disorders and injuries that affect the muscles, tendons, ligaments, nerves, blood vessels and joints. They are classified as a type of overuse injury, as repeated movements in the same or similar motion increase the risk of MSDs. When speaking about the new regulation, Cal/OSHA's Juliann Sum explained by saying that hotel workers have higher rates of MSDs compared to workers in other injuries, and that this new regulation could protect workers from many common hazards in the industry.

"Hotel housekeepers have higher rates of acute and cumulative injuries compared to workers in other industries, and data shows those injuries have steadily increased,” said Cal/OSHA Chief Juliann Sum. “This regulation requires employers to identify, evaluate, and correct housekeeping-related hazards with the involvement of housekeepers and their union representative."

Under this new requirement, hotel and hospitality employers must implement an MIPP that includes procedures used to identify and evaluate hazards; procedures to investigate MSDs; methods to identify and correct hazards; and training of workers on safe practices, controls and processes.

To put the problem of MSDs into perspective, a report published by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) found that nearly one-third of all worker injuries and illnesses reported in 2013 were attributed to MSDs. MSDs are also one of the leading causes of lower back pain, which is oftentimes debilitating enough that workers are forced to take time off.

Even with this new regulation, MSDs aren't going to stop happening. However, it's safe to assume that workers in the hotel and hospitality industry will experience fewer rates of MSDs thanks to the new regulation created by Cal/OSHA.