On July 1, 2026, the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health issued a notice of proposed modifications to its workplace inspection walkaround rule, opening a fifteen-day public comment period.
Written comments on the proposed changes are due by July 16, 2026, at 11:59 p.m., giving employers and workers a narrow window to respond.
The proposed rule would add section 331.8 to Title 8 of the California Code of Regulations, addressing the roles of employer and employee-authorised representatives during Cal/OSHA inspections.
Cal/OSHA first issued its notice of proposed rulemaking on February 13, 2026, with a public hearing following on April 1, 2026, before the current round of modifications was announced.
Under the proposal, an employee-authorised representative may be a fellow employee, a collective bargaining representative, or a nonemployee third party under certain conditions.
A nonemployee, nonunion third party may only accompany an inspector if the inspector determines that good cause exists and the individual’s participation is reasonably necessary to conduct an effective and thorough inspection.
Relevant considerations for allowing third-party participation include industry expertise, worksite knowledge, familiarity with particular work processes, and language or communication skills.
In developing the rule, Cal/OSHA drew on the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s Worker Walkaround Representative Designation Process, which became effective on May 31, 2024.
Because California operates an OSHA-approved state plan, Cal/OSHA has stated that its workplace inspection rights and procedures must be at least as effective as OSHA’s current procedures.
The proposed rule would not alter the existing consent-and-warrant framework that governs how Cal/OSHA inspectors gain initial access to a workplace.
Under that existing framework, Cal/OSHA inspectors generally must obtain either employer consent or an inspection warrant before entering a workplace, with evidence from unlawful inspections subject to suppression.
The proposed changes focus instead on who may participate once an inspector is already on site, shifting control over walkaround team composition toward the inspector.
The most significant proposed change for employers is the expanded role of nonemployee third parties, which could widen the range of people present during inspections beyond what employers have traditionally encountered.
The inspector would be “in charge of inspections” under the proposal and would hold authority to resolve disputes over representative qualifications and limit interactions during the walkaround process.
Cal/OSHA has acknowledged that some employers refuse consent to inspections and has noted the proposed rule would provide stronger grounds for obtaining inspection warrants that include access for necessary representatives.
The proposed rule includes specific trade secret protections, requiring that any employee-authorised representative entering an area containing trade secrets be an employee assigned to that area or someone the employer has authorised.
Employers should consider designating walkaround representatives in advance, establishing protocols for objecting to proposed third-party participants, and identifying who holds authority to grant or deny inspector consent.
Interested parties may submit written comments by email to [email protected] or by mail to Silas Shawver, Staff Counsel, Cal/OSHA Legal Unit, 1515 Clay Street, Suite 1901, Oakland, California 94612.