Carmona v. Division of Industrial Safety

Opinion

TOBRINER, J.

Petitioners, numerous farmworkers employed in the Salinas Valley, instituted the present proceeding to challenge a decision of the California Division of Industrial Safety (hereafter “division”) which determined that the “short-handled hoe” is not an “unsafe hand tool” within the meaning of an administrative regulation prohibiting the use of such unsafe tools. After conducting a series of hearings on the issue, the division concluded that because the harm allegedly caused by the short-handled hoe arises only from the manner in which the tool is used, and not from any…