Background – Public Health and the Need for Employer Accountability

Senate Bill 20, also called the Silicosis Training, Outreach, and Prevention (STOP) Act, was signed into law by Governor Newsom on October 13, 2025.¹ Senator Caroline Menjivar is on the forefront of this battle to avoid preventable injuries and illnesses by enforcing proper safety measures at fabrication shops.

The enactment of this law represents California’s regulatory response to workplace safety issues in the stone fabrication industry caused by employers and fabrication shop owners. Public health investigations by agencies like Cal/OSHA and the California Department of Public Health have found that unsafe workplace practices have caused a rise in silicosis cases among countertop fabrication workers. These purported unsafe fabrication practices include dry cutting, inadequate ventilation, and a lack of proper worker training and protective controls. Between July and December of 2023 alone, the California Department of Public Health (“CDPH”) Occupational Health Branch reported a 92% increase in silicosis cases statewide.² The Los Angeles CDPH reported increasing severity in 2024. As of August 2025, there were 176 silicosis cases in California.³ According to an article published by the American Journal of Public Health in October of 2025 that detailed surveillance of silicosis cases from 2019 to 2024, there are now 296 cases of silicosis confirmed in California.⁴

According to the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, Silicosis can be preventable with the right measures in place. (See SB 20 (Menjivar), Section (1)(5). With the passing of SB 20, those measures will include dust suppression and proper training and certifications.

The new law targets the conditions and methods of which the stone is cut, ground, and polished rather than placing a ban on the products themselves. It is indeed a response to an alleged failure of workplace safety measures. With the passage of this law comes a new framework for safety, training and compliance obligations at the employer and fabrication shop owner level.

From Legislative Proposal to Certified Compliance: Understanding the STOP Act’s New Requirements for Stone Fabrication Shops

The new law includes various new requirements, impacting both employers and employees within the industry.

Critically, owners and operators of slab surface product fabrication shops must complete the training curriculum before fabrication activity or employment beginning on July 1, 2027. By this date, the law will require owners and operators of fabrication shops to have either completed the training curriculum or to, at a minimum, be enrolled in it. Beginning on January 1, 2027, there will be an application and certification process for fabrication shops to engage in fabrication activities. The Department will grant a 3-year certification to a fabrication shop that demonstrates satisfaction of specified criteria involving workplace safety conditions and complying with Cal/OSHA safety standards. Cal/OSHA’s Department of Industrial Relations and the State Department of Public Health will administer the certification. They will develop and enforce a Stone Fabrication Safety Certification Program which will require proof that a fabrication shop implements effective dust-suppression methods, such as wet-cutting, ventilation, and vacuum systems designed to minimize employee risks of silica exposure. The certification process will further mandate worker training and education.

The Department of Industrial Relations in the Labor and Workforce Development Agency must now adopt a training curriculum regarding the safe performance of fabrication activities on stone slab products that meet specific requirements by no later than July 1, 2026. Fabrication shops must ensure that workers involved in high-exposure tasks are trained pursuant to state regulations. The new law will require the owner or operator of a fabrication shop, or any individual who will employ another individual to perform “high-exposure trigger tasks” in a fabrication shop, to ensure that an employee who will perform such tasks receives training and, beginning on July 1, 2026, and annually thereafter, to attest to the division that these employees have been trained.

Section 6359.1 defines, “high-exposure trigger tasks” as tasks involving the following activities: machining, crushing, cutting, drilling, abrading, abrasive blasting, grinding, chiseling, carving, gouging, polishing, buffing, fracturing, intentionally breaking, or intentionally chipping. The definition also includes clean-up and handling of any associated dust, waste, and debris created during these tasks. The new law required wet methods to suppress dust and prohibits the use of dry methods.

Employers and shop owners must report confirmed cases of silicosis and silica-related cancers to Cal/OSHA and the Department of Public Health within 5 days of case identification. The notice shall include the name and contact information for the worker with silicosis as well as the name and address of their workplace. Further, only certified fabrication shops will be permitted to purchase stone slabs from suppliers. Distributors will be required to confirm the certification status of the parties to whom they sell or supply stone slabs. The program will establish a public database of certified and non-compliant fabrication shops to assist in the facilitation of enforcement and support supplier due diligence. The database will be available through the State Public Health Officer Department’s publicly available website.

Looking Forward

In the coming months, early preparation and compliance planning will be critical. State agencies, such as the Department of Industrial Relations, Department of Public Health, and Cal/OSHA will begin development of practices, rules, and curriculums ahead of the upcoming deadlines. With the guidance of legal counsel, companies that focus on proactive compliance will be best positioned to meet the new obligations set forth by the STOP act, especially regarding distribution and supply to certified fabrication shops.

1. See Senate Bill 20: Continuing Developments in the Stone Fabrication Industry for additional background on the Bill. ↩︎
2. See Senator Menjivar Fights to STOP Silicosis Cases Among California Workers with SB 20. ↩︎
3. See State of California Department of Industrial Relations News Release Number 2024-66, dated August 27, 2024, entitled, “Cal/OSHA cites nine employers in Sun Valley for silica health and safety violations.” ↩︎
4. See American Journal of Public Health, “Silicosis Surveillance in California, 2019–2024: Tracking an Epidemic” (2025). ↩︎