CHAPTER 6. Permit Requirements [6500. - 6510.]

Cal. Labor Code - LAB 6.

in effect

Cal. Labor Code - LAB § 6500. Section 6500.

(a) For those employments or places of employment that by their nature involve a substantial risk of injury, the division shall require the issuance of a permit prior to the initiation of any practices, work, method, operation, or process of employment. The permit requirement of this section is limited to employment or places of employment that are any of the following: (1) Construction of trenches or excavations that are five feet or deeper and into which a person is required to descend. (2) The construction of any building, structure, falsework, or scaffolding more than three stories high or the equivalent height. (3) The demolition of any building, structure, falsework, or scaffold more than three stories high or the equivalent height. (4) The underground use of diesel engines in work in mines and tunnels. This subdivision does not apply to motion picture, television, or theater stages or sets, including, but not limited to, scenery, props, backdrops, flats, greenbeds, and grids. (b) On or after January 1, 2000, this subdivision shall apply to motion picture, television, or theater stages or sets, if there has occurred within any one prior calendar year in any combination at separate locations three serious injuries, fatalities, or serious violations related to the construction or demolition of sets more than 36 feet in height for the motion picture, television, and theatrical production industry. An annual permit shall be required for employers who construct or dismantle motion picture, television, or theater stages or sets that are more than three stories or the equivalent height. A single permit shall be required under this subdivision for each employer, regardless of the number of locations where the stages or sets are located. An employer with a currently valid annual permit issued under this subdivision shall not be required to provide notice to the division prior to commencement of any work activity authorized by the permit. The division may adopt procedures to permit employers to renew by mail the permits issued under this subdivision. For purposes of this subdivision, “motion picture, television, or theater stages or sets” include, but are not limited to, scenery, props, backdrops, flats, greenbeds, and grids.

Cal. Labor Code - LAB § 6501. Section 6501.

Any employer subject to Section 6500 shall apply to the division for a permit pursuant to Section 6500. Such application for a permit shall contain such information as the division may deem necessary to evaluate the safety of the proposed employment or place of employment. An application by an employer shall include a provision that the applicant has knowledge of applicable occupational safety and health standards and will comply with such standards and any other lawful order of the division.

Cal. Labor Code - LAB § 6501.5. Section 6501.5.

Effective January 1, 1987, any employer or contractor who engages in asbestos-related work, as defined in Section 6501.8, and which involves 100 square feet or more of surface area of asbestos-containing material, shall register with the division. The division may grant registration based on a determination that the employer has demonstrated evidence that the conditions, practices, means, methods, operations, or processes used, or proposed to be used, will provide a safe and healthful place of employment. This section is not intended to supersede existing laws and regulations under Title 8, California Administrative Code, Section 5208. An application for registration shall contain such information and attachments, given under penalty of perjury, as the division may deem necessary to evaluate the safety and health of the proposed employment or place of employment. It shall include, but not be limited to, all of the following: (a) Every employer shall meet each of the following criteria: (1) If the employer is a contractor, the contractor shall be certified pursuant to Section 7058.5 of the Business and Professions Code. (2) Provide health insurance coverage to cover the entire cost of medical examinations and monitoring required by law and be insured for workers’ compensation, or provide a five hundred dollar ($500) trust account for each employee engaged in asbestos-related work. The health insurance coverage may be provided through a union, association, or employer. (3) Train and certify all employees in accordance with all training required by law and Title 8 of the California Administrative Code. (4) Be proficient and have the necessary equipment to safely do asbestos-related work. (b) Provide written notice to the division of each separate job or phase of work, where the work process used is different or the work is performed at noncontiguous locations, noting all of the following: (1) The address of the job. (2) The exact physical location of the job at that address. (3) The start and projected completion date. (4) The name of a certified supervisor with sufficient experience and authority who shall be responsible for the asbestos-related work at that job. (5) The name of a qualified person, who shall be responsible for scheduling any air sampling, laboratory calibration of air sampling equipment, evaluation of sampling results, and conducting respirator fit testing and evaluating the results of those tests. (6) The type of work to be performed, the work practices that will be utilized, and the potential for exposure. Should any change be necessary, the employer or contractor shall so inform the division at or before the time of the change. Any oral notification shall be confirmed in writing. (c) Post the location where any asbestos-related work occurs so as to be readable at 20 feet stating, “Danger—Asbestos. Cancer and Lung Hazard. Keep Out.” (d) A copy of the registration shall be provided before the start of the job to the prime contractor or other employers on the site and shall be posted on the jobsite beside the Cal-OSHA poster. (e) The division shall obtain the services of three industrial hygienists and one clerical employee to implement and to enforce the requirements of this section unless the director makes a finding that these services are not necessary or that the services are not obtainable due to a lack of qualified hygienists applying for available positions. Funding may, at the director’s discretion, be appropriated from the Asbestos Abatement Fund. (f) Not later than January 1, 1987, the Division of Occupational Safety and Health shall propose to the Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board for review and adoption a regulation concerning asbestos-related work, as defined in Section 6501.8, which involves 100 square feet or more of surface area of asbestos-containing material. The regulation shall protect most effectively the health and safety of employees and shall include specific requirements for certification of employees, supervisors with sufficient experience and authority to be responsible for asbestos-related work, and a qualified person who shall be responsible for scheduling any air sampling, for arranging for calibration of the air sampling equipment and for analysis of the air samples by a NIOSH approved method, for conducting respirator fit testing, and for evaluating the results of the air sampling. The Division of Occupational Safety and Health shall also propose a regulation to the Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board for review and adoption specifying sampling methodology for use in taking air samples.

Cal. Labor Code - LAB § 6501.7. Section 6501.7.

“Asbestos” means fibrous forms of various hydrated minerals, including chrysotile (fibrous serpentine), crocidolite (fibrous riebecktite), amosite (fibrous cummingtonite—grunerite), fibrous tremolite, fibrous actinolite, and fibrous anthophyllite.

Cal. Labor Code - LAB § 6501.8. Section 6501.8.

(a) For purposes of this chapter, “asbestos-related work” means any activity which by disturbing asbestos-containing construction materials may release asbestos fibers into the air and which is not related to its manufacture, the mining or excavation of asbestos-bearing ore or materials, or the installation or repair of automotive materials containing asbestos. (b) For purposes of this chapter, “asbestos containing construction material” means any manufactured construction material that contains more than one-tenth of 1 percent asbestos by weight. (c) For purposes of this chapter, “asbestos-related work” does not include the installation, repair, maintenance, or nondestructive removal of asbestos cement pipe used outside of buildings, if the installation, repair, maintenance, or nondestructive removal of asbestos cement pipe does not result in asbestos exposures to employees in excess of the action level determined in accordance with Sections 1529 and 5208 of Title 8 of the California Code of Regulations, and if the employees and supervisors involved in the operation have received training through a task-specific training program, approved pursuant to Section 9021.9, with written certification of completion of that training by the training entity responsible for the training.

Cal. Labor Code - LAB § 6501.9. Section 6501.9.

The owner of a commercial or industrial building or structure, employer, or contractor who engages in, or contracts for, asbestos-related work shall make a good faith effort to determine if asbestos is present before the work is begun. The contractor or employer shall first inquire of the owner if asbestos is present in any building or structure built prior to 1978.

Cal. Labor Code - LAB § 6502. Section 6502.

The division may issue a permit based on a determination the employer has demonstrated evidence that the conditions, practices, means, methods, operations or processes used or proposed to be used will provide a safe and healthful place of employment. The division may issue a single permit for two or more projects to be performed by a single employer if similar conditions exist on each project and the chief or his representative is satisfied an adequate safety program has been developed for all the projects. The division may, upon its motion, conduct any investigation or hearing it deems necessary for the purpose of this section, and may require a safety conference prior to the start of actual work.

Cal. Labor Code - LAB § 6503. Section 6503.

A safety conference shall include representatives of the owner or contracting agency, the contractor, the employer, employees and employee representatives. The safety conference shall include a discussion of the employer’s safety program and such means, methods, devices, processes, practices, conditions or operations as he intends to use in providing safe employment and a safe place of employment.

Cal. Labor Code - LAB § 6503.5. Section 6503.5.

A safety conference shall be held for all asbestos handling jobs prior to the start of actual work. It shall include representatives of the owner or contracting agency, the contractor, the employer, employees, and employee representatives. It shall include a discussion of the employer’s safety program and such means, methods, devices, processes, practices, conditions, or operations as the employer intends to use in providing a safe place of employment.

Cal. Labor Code - LAB § 6504. Section 6504.

Any employer issued a permit pursuant to this chapter shall post a copy or copies of the permit pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 6408.

Cal. Labor Code - LAB § 6505. Section 6505.

The division may at any time, upon good cause being shown therefor, and after notice and an opportunity to be heard revoke any permit issued pursuant to this chapter.

Cal. Labor Code - LAB § 6505.5. Section 6505.5.

(a) The division may, upon good cause shown, and after notice to the employer or contractor by the division and an opportunity to be heard, revoke or suspend any registration issued to the employer or contractor to do asbestos-related work until certain specified written conditions are met. (b) Any person who owns a commercial or industrial building or structure, any employer who engages in or contracts for asbestos-related work, any contractor, public agency, or any employee acting for any of the foregoing, who, contracts for, or who begins, asbestos-related work in any commercial or industrial building or structure built prior to 1978 without first determining if asbestos-containing material is present, and thereby fails to comply with the applicable laws and regulations, is subject to one of the following penalties: (1) For a knowing or negligent violation, a fine of not more than five thousand dollars ($5,000) or imprisonment in the county jail for not more than six months, or both the fine and imprisonment. (2) For a willful violation which results in death, serious injury or illness, or serious exposure, a fine of not more than ten thousand dollars ($10,000) or imprisonment in the county jail for not more than one year, or both the fine and imprisonment. A second or subsequent conviction under this paragraph may be punishable by a fine of not more than twenty thousand dollars ($20,000) or by imprisonment in the county jail for not more than one year, or by both the fine and imprisonment. (c) It is a defense to an action for violation of this section if the owner, contractor, employer, public agency, or agent thereof, proves, by a preponderance of the evidence, that he or she made a reasonable effort to determine whether asbestos was present.

Cal. Labor Code - LAB § 6506. Section 6506.

(a) Any employer denied a permit upon application, or whose permit is revoked, may appeal such denial or revocation to the director. (b) The filing of an appeal to the director from a permit revocation by the division shall not stay the revocation. Upon application by the employer with proper notice to the division, and after an opportunity for the division to respond to the application, the director may issue an order staying the revocation while the appeal is pending.

Cal. Labor Code - LAB § 6507. Section 6507.

The division shall set fees to be charged for permits and registrations in amounts reasonably necessary to cover the costs involved in administering the permitting and registration programs in this chapter. All permit and registration fees collected under this chapter shall be deposited in the Occupational Safety and Health Fund.

Cal. Labor Code - LAB § 6508. Section 6508.

No permit shall be required of the State of California, a city, city and county, county, district, or public utility subject to the jurisdiction of the Public Utilities Commission.

Cal. Labor Code - LAB § 6508.5. Section 6508.5.

No entity shall be exempt from registration. The State of California, a city, city and county, county, district, or public utility subject to the jurisdiction of the Public Utilities Commission, shall be required to apply for a registration through the designated chief executive officer of that body. No registration fees shall be required of any public agencies.

Cal. Labor Code - LAB § 6509. Section 6509.

Any person, or agent or officer thereof, who violates this chapter is guilty of a misdemeanor.

Cal. Labor Code - LAB § 6509.5. Section 6509.5.

(a) If an asbestos consultant has made an inspection for the purpose of determining the presence of asbestos or the need for related remedial action with knowledge that the report has been required by a person as a condition of making a loan of money secured by the property, or is required by a public entity as a condition of issuing a permit concerning the property, the asbestos consultant or any employee, subsidiary, or any company with common ownership, shall not require, as a condition of performing the inspection, that the consultant also perform any corrective work on the property that was recommended in the report. (b) This section does not prohibit an asbestos consultant that has contracted to perform corrective work after the report of another company has indicated the presence of asbestos or the need for related remedial action from making its own inspection prior to performing that corrective work or from making an inspection to determine whether the corrective measures were successful and, if not, thereafter performing additional corrective work. (c) A violation of this section is grounds for disciplinary action against any asbestos consultant who engages in that work pursuant to any license from a state agency. (d) A violation of this section is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not less than three thousand dollars ($3,000) and not more than five thousand dollars ($5,000), or by imprisonment in the county jail for not more than one year, or both. (e) For the purpose of this section: (1) “Asbestos consultant” means any person who, for compensation, inspects property to identify asbestos containing materials, determining the risks, or the need for related remedial action. (2) “Asbestos” has the meaning set forth in Section 6501.7.

Cal. Labor Code - LAB § 6510. Section 6510.

(a) If, after inspection or investigation, the division finds that an employer, without a valid permit, is engaging in activity for which a permit is required, it may, through its attorneys, apply to the superior court of the county in which such activity is taking place for an injunction restraining such activity. (b) The application to the superior court, accompanied by an affidavit showing that the employer, without a valid permit, is engaging in activity for which a permit is required, is a sufficient prima facie showing to warrant, in the discretion of the court, the immediate granting of a temporary restraining order. No bond shall be required of the division as a prerequisite to the granting of any restraining order.

Source: CA Legislative Counsel Bulk DataURL: https://downloads.leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/pubinfo_2025.zipFetched: 6/27/2026