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Workplace health and safety issues were the focal point of a national conference held recently in San Francisco, which drew a broad spectrum of national experts who praised the outcome of the session.

With an emphasis on education, the California Forum for Workplace Health and Safety mapped out a series of recommendations. The confab, which included input from the California Department of Industrial Relations and the California Commission on Health and Safety and Workers’ Compensation (CHWSWC), was co-sponsored by the Center for Occupational and Environmental Health at UC California-Berkeley.

Key points from the forum included:

Increased emphasis on prevention and safety will benefit both workers and employers by reducing workplace injuries and related costs Prevention strategies for the new century must take into account demands of the new economy, changing workforce within California and the nation, and the various sizes of businesses and industries.

More information and education are needed on health and safety, easily accessible to all parties, including young and immigrant workers Labor and management are most effective by working together to further their common goal of improving workplace health and safety Health and safety research needs to be linked to "real-world" applications.

Enhanced communication among employers, workers and providers will improve return-to-work outcome for injured workers and their employers Tax incentives for employers to promote health, safety and return-to-work programs will improve outcomes for workers and employers CHSWC is charged with overseeing the health/safety and WC systems in California and recommending administrative or legislative modifications to improve their operation. The commission was established to conduct a continuing examination of the WC system and of the state’s activities to prevent industrial injuries and occupational diseases and to evaluate those programs in other states.

Information on the forum, including the agenda, presentation, fact sheets and speaker biographies is available at http://www.dir.ca.gov/chswc/chswcact.html