For purposes of this chapter, “sales floor” means any area where the public is invited to shop, whether indoors or outdoors.
Commercial EstablishmentsWorking Warehouses
Section § 9100
This law defines a 'sales floor' as any area, indoors or outdoors, where the public can shop.
sales floor definition public shopping area indoor shopping area
Section § 9101
This law defines a 'working warehouse' as any wholesale or retail store where two things happen: heavy machinery like forklifts is used in areas where customers shop, and items are stored on shelves more than 12 feet above the floor.
For purposes of this chapter, “working warehouse” means a wholesale or retail establishment in which both of the following occur:
(a)CA Labor Code § 9101(a) Heavy machinery, including, but not limited to, forklifts, is used in any area where the public shops while customers are on the premises.
(b)CA Labor Code § 9101(b) Merchandise is stored on shelves higher than 12 feet above the sales floor.
working warehouse heavy machinery forklifts
Section § 9102
If you own or manage a warehouse where merchandise is stored more than 12 feet high, you need to secure that merchandise. You can use things like rails, fencing, or netting to keep the items safe. You could also wrap items together or use cords to tie them. These safety measures had to be in place by July 1, 2002.
(a)CA Labor Code § 9102(a) The owner, manager, or operator of a working warehouse shall secure merchandise stored on shelves higher than 12 feet above the sales floor. Methods of securing merchandise shall include rails, fencing, netting, security doors, gates, cables, or the binding of items on a pallet into one unit by shrink-wrapping, metal or plastic banding, or by tying items together with a cord.
(b)CA Labor Code § 9102(b) All working warehouses shall comply with the provisions of this section on or before July 1, 2002.
warehouse safety high shelves merchandise securing
Section § 9103
This law requires that when heavy machinery is used to move items from shelves, a safety zone must be set up to keep customers away from areas where items might fall. All active warehouses had to follow this rule by July 1, 2002.
(a)CA Labor Code § 9103(a) When heavy machinery is used to move merchandise from a shelf, there shall be a safety zone established to temporarily block customers from entering areas where merchandise could fall during removal from a shelf.
(b)CA Labor Code § 9103(b) All working warehouses shall comply with the provisions of this section on or before July 1, 2002.
heavy machinery merchandise movement safety zone
Section § 9104
If you own, manage, or run a warehouse with over 50 employees in California, you need to report any serious injuries or deaths of customers caused by falling merchandise. This report must be submitted to the relevant division within 30 days after December 31st each year, specifically for 2002 and 2003. If you operate multiple warehouses, you can file one report for all, but you need to specify which warehouses had incidents.
An owner, manager, or operator of a working warehouse who employs more than 50 employees shall submit to the division, a report of all known injuries requiring hospitalization, including emergency room medical treatment, or deaths occurring to customers as the result of falling merchandise. The report shall be filed within 30 days of December 31, 2002, and within 30 days of December 31, 2003. Each year, a corporation owning, managing, or operating more than one working warehouse may submit a single report on behalf of all of the corporation’s working warehouses in the state, provided that the report identifies the location of the warehouse where each reportable incident occurred.
warehouse injuries falling merchandise customer injuries
