Workplace Safety

The campuswide Workplace Safety Program serves as the university’s central program for creating a safe and healthful work environment. 

Equipment and Tool Safety

Providing resources and guidance for the safe use of tools by UC Berkeley personnel.

Needles and Sharps: Safe Handling, Injury Response and Disposal

Office of Environment, Health & Safety
2020

A sharp is any device with corners, edges, or projections capable of cutting or piercing. Sharps include,
but are not limited to, the following:

Needles Needles with syringes and attached tubing Blades (razors, scalpels and X-acto®) Glass pasteur pipettes Broken glass, glass slides, and coverslips

Changes to Notification of Potential Workplace Exposure to COVID-19

July 10, 2023
Office of Environment, Health, and Safety

UC Berkeley faculty and staff can now stay updated on potential COVID-19 exposures by accessing the UC Berkeley Potential Worksite Exposure Information Website. This will replace the previous practice of sending a COVID-19 potential workplace exposure CALmessage to all employees within one business day of a potential COVID-19 exposure in campus buildings.

Thank you for your continued commitment to the...

Working in Hot Weather: Reminders for Employees & Supervisors

June 29, 2023
Office of Environment, Health, and Safety

It’s summertime and warmer temperatures are returning. The National Weather Service has issued a Heat Advisory for the region starting Friday. Heat can be dangerous and potentially life-threatening. It is important to take precautions and to be prepared for high heat conditions. Please share this information with supervisors and employees in your department that work outdoors or may be exposed to high temperatures indoors during their workday.

Outdoor work when temperature exceeds 80°F

Workers performing job duties outside...

Heat Illness Prevention and Response

Work in hot environments can have direct effects on human health including, heat exhaustion, reduced labor productivity, and heat stroke. All university employees who work outdoors or in environments with elevated indoor temperatures may be at risk for heat illness– the group of medical conditions caused by the body’s inability to cope with heat.

Heat exposure can be dangerous and potentially life-threatening.

It is important to take precautions and to be prepared for high heat conditions....

Rooftop Safety Plan

Soheila Khaligh
2020

This plan is a source of information for workers that will perform invasive or non-invasive work on roofs of UC Berkeley buildings. These are general guidelines to help you work safely in and around vent systems on the roof.

Soheila Khaligh

Safety Engineering & Program Specialist
Workplace Safety

Rooftop Work Safety Plan Checklist

Soheila Khaligh
2020

Injury & Illness Reporting (IIR) Tool replaces the Employer’s First Report (EFR) system

May 31, 2023
Office of Environment, Health, and Safety

Effective today, May 31, 2023, UC Berkeley Managers and Supervisors will now report workplace-related injuries or illnesses online with RSS Injury and Illness Reporting. RSS Injury & Illness Reporting is an online solution that offers a simplified way to submit and monitor employee injury claims to help manage risks and reduce the likelihood of repeated injuries in the workplace. Injury & Illness Reporting (IIR) will replace our current Employer’s First Report (EFR) system.

There is also a new injury investigation module associated with the injury illness reporting system....

Resources and Guides

Job Safety Analysis (JSA)

A JSA describes job tasks in step-by-step fashion, identifies associated hazards at each step, and outlines proper hazard controls that minimize the risk of injury or illness to the individual(s) performing that task.

JSAs Listed by Topic: Body Mechanics ...