Cal/OSHA’s Bureau of Investigations (BOI) will have no personnel in Northern California following the resignation of Julio Alfaro, a senior investigator who was the lone BOI representative in the north state. Alfaro accepted a position outside of state government effective today.
BOI, mandated by the California Labor Code, is responsible for criminal investigations involving workplace fatalities and serious injuries. It makes referrals to local prosecuting authorities.
Alfaro’s resignation follows the resignation, last year, of Chris Kuhns, a 14-year veteran who left, he says, after being denied an opportunity to become a compliance safety and health officer at the Division of Occupational Safety and Health.
Alfaro, who has spent ten years at BOI and 18 at the Department of Industrial Relations, also describes being denied upward mobility at the Division. He says the pay at the Bureau is some 40% less than that of a DOSH associate safety engineer.
The BOI’s vacancy rate is now 85%, with one investigator left for the entire State of California. The Bureau has no investigators in Northern California, one in Southern California, and a supervisor based in the South.
The resignation adds to the Department of Industrial Relations staff shortage. DIR is actively recruiting and interviewing to fill its open positions.
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