Cal/OSHA’s Field Enforcement Positions: July 2015 – March 2018

Total Positions – Filled Positions – Vacant Positions

Authorized State Funding Lost Due to Vacancies

Starting in July 2015, the California Legislature approved budgets that authorized the
Department of Industrial Relations to hire a significant number of additional field enforcement
inspectors. These compliance safety and health officer (CSHO) positions were fully funded by
the budget passed by the Legislature. The failure of DIR to fill these vacancies means that $13.3
million in state resources were “left on the table” and not used to protect California workers.

State Fiscal Year 2015-16 [July 2015 through June 2016]

Month Total Positions Filled Positions Vacant Positions

July 2015 223 190 33
November 2015 242 195 47
January 2016 239 194 45
March 2016 238 189 49
April 2016 240 197 43
June 2016 242 207 35
Annual average 237 195 42
Source: “DOSH Organization Charts” issued monthly by the DOSH Program Office

Each CSHO position represents $150,000 a year in annual resources for salary, benefits and
operating costs. An average of 42 vacancies for fiscal year 2015-16 represents $6,300,000 in
unused state enforcement resources.

State Fiscal Year 2016-17 [July 2016 through June 2017]

Month Total Positions Filled Positions Vacant Positions

July 2016 244 206 38
September 2016 244 216 28
October 2016 245 218 27
December 2016 244 219 25
January 2017 243 216 27
March 2017 244 217 27
May 2017 242 216 26
June 2017 243 217 26
Annual average 243 216 28
Source: “DOSH Organization Charts” issued monthly by the DOSH Program Office
Each CSHO position represents $150,000 a year in annual resources for salary, benefits and
operating costs. An average of 28 vacancies for fiscal year 2016-17 represents $4,200,000 in
unused state enforcement resources.

State Fiscal Year 2017-18 [July 2017 through March 2018]

Month Total Positions Filled Positions Vacant Positions

August 2017 254 212 42
September 2017 252 213 39
October 2017 253 216 37
November 2017 252 215 37
December 2017 250 223 27
January 2018 252 227 25
February 2018 240 229 11
March 2018 238 228 10
Average – July 2017 252 224 34.5
to January 2018
Average – February 239 228.5 10.5
and March 2018
Source: “DOSH Organization Charts” issued monthly by the DOSH Program Office

Each CSHO position represents $150,000 a year in annual resources for salary, benefits and
operating costs. An average of 34.5 vacancies for the period of July 2017 through January 2018
represents $2,587,500 in unused state enforcement resources; while the vacancies in February
and March 2018 represent $262,500, for a total of $2,850,000 in unused state enforcement
resources for the first nine months of fiscal year 2017-18.

The unused state resources allocated for workplace safety enforcement by Cal/OSHA since July
2015 include:

$6,300,000 for state fiscal year 2015-16

$4,200,000 for state fiscal year 2016-17
$2,850,000 for state fiscal year 2017-18

The total for the period is: $13,350,000.

Compiled by Garrett Brown on March 25, 2018