What Is An IIPP And Why Do I Need One?

Did you know that in California, if you have one or more employees, you are required by law to have a written Injury and Illness Prevention Program (IIPP) in place? In this article, we answer a question often asked by our nonprofit clients, “What is an IIPP, and why do I need one?”

What Is An IIPP?

What is an IIPP? IIPP stands for Injury and Illness Prevention Program.  It is simply a written workplace safety program.  All employers in California are required to have an IIPP that addresses all 8 key workplace safety objectives that are tailored to your organization’s operations.

Why Do I Need An IIPP?

If you are asking, “Why do I need an IIPP?”, we give two reasons. An effective IIPP improves the health and safety of your workplace and can reduce overall costs. It is also the law! It is important for both employees and management to be involved in the drafting of the IIPP.

There are several tools to assist with writing your IIPP – State Fund has released a new IIPP Builder that is available for free to all employers in the state.  If you are a State Fund client, you can save it in progress and work on it over time.  If you are not a State Fund client, you have to complete the writing in one sitting as a guest and then can download the pdf version for printing and distribution. Cal/OSHA has an e-tool available also – CalOSHA Tool. The Worker Occupational Safety and Health Training and Education Program offers half-day training events to help you with developing your IIPP. You can look up scheduled trainings at WOSHTEP Workshops.

Cal/OSHA issues more than 2,000 IIPP- related citations to California employers annually, and they include fines that vary in amount depending on the severity of the violation. If your nonprofit does not have a written IIPP in place, make it a priority!

Eight Key Elements Of An IIPP

CalOSHA requires that organizations include these eight key elements in the written IIPP document:

• Responsibility – outlines in writing who is responsible for your organization’s workplace safety program, establishing roles and responsibilities.
• Compliance – establishes safety rules to be followed including a positive recognition and disciplinary programs.
• Communication – defines the system by which you will communicate the IIPP to staff in a format that is best suited to your employees and workplace culture.
• Hazard Assessment – outlines in detail the procedures for how to identify which hazards are present in the organization’s work environment. This includes health and safety hazards, unsafe conditions and work practices.
• Accident/Exposure Investigation – addresses investigation and reporting requirements for employers in order to determine why incidents occurred and methods for preventing future occurrences.
• Hazard Correction – documents how you will address and correct hazards in a timely manner, and what procedures will be followed to create the safest conditions possible for your employees.
• Training – discusses how your employees and supervisors will be trained in a language and manner they understand.
• Recordkeeping – defines your methods for keeping records of safety inspections, safety and health trainings, and reporting of workplace injuries and illnesses. If you have an inspection by CalOSHA, they will review your records. For more information see our previous blog article, New Cal/OSHA Reporting Requirements Highlight Importance Of Workplace Safety.

State Fund’s New IIPP Builder Tool

Watch this 2-minute Video on State Fund’s new IIPP builder tool!

‍