HEALTH SERVICES AGENCY * ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH DEPARTMENT

INFORMATIONAL BULLETIN NO. 95-01

AB 13: CALIFORNIA’S LAW FOR A SMOKEFREE WORKPLACE

AB 13 replaces local smoking ordinances for enclosed places of employment, unless they are more restrictive. This law prohibits smoking in an enclosed workplace and became effective January 1, 1995. Since a majority of the facilities regulated by the Health Services Agency are affected by this law, this informational bulletin was developed in an attempt to clarify any questions concerning this regulation.

Some examples of facilities this Agency regulates where smoking is not allowed are:

• Restaurants
• Machine Shops
• Markets
• Print Shops
• Movie Theaters
• Paint/Body Shops
• Enclosed Shopping Malls
• Gas Stations
• Dry Cleaners
• Doctor and Dentist Offices
• Auto Repair Shops
• Hospitals and Medical Clinics

AB 13 does allow some facilities to be excluded from the smoking prohibition:

• Gaming clubs, bars and taverns are excluded until January 1999. As of January 1, 1995, if a bar is located within a restaurant, smoking will only be allowed in the IMMEDIATE BAR AREA.
• Small Businesses (with five or fewer employees), when all four of the following criteria are met: (1) the smoking area is not accessible to minors; (2) no employees are required to work in the smoking area against their will; (3) the air from the smoking area is vented directly to the outside of the building; and (4) the employer complies with all applicable state and federal ventilation standards.
• Sixty-five percent of hotel and motel guest rooms.
• Designated portions of hotel and motel lobbies. Smoking areas will be allowed in designated lobby areas that do not exceed 50 percent of floor space of lobbies that are 2,000 square feet or less. In lobbies larger than 2000 square feet, the smoking area can cover up to 25 percent of the entire lobby space.
• Meeting and banquet rooms in hotels, motels, restaurants or convention centers, except when used for exhibit purposes or when food and beverage functions are being conducted. During these times, smoking may be permitted in corridors and pre-function areas near the meeting or banquet room if no employee is stationed there.
• Warehouses with more than 100,000 square feet of floor space and 20 or fewer full time employees. This exemption does not apply to any office space located within a warehouse, which must be kept smokefree.
• Tobacco Shops and attached private smokers’ lounges.
• Employee breakrooms designated by employers for smoking, provided that they meet all the following conditions: (1) the room is located in a nonwork area where no one is required to enter as part of his/her work responsibilities; (2) the air from the smoking area is vented directly to the outside of the building; (3) there are a sufficient number of smokefree breakrooms provided for nonsmoking employees; (4) and the employer complies with all applicable state and federal ventilation standards.
• Truck cabs or tractors, when a nonsmoking employee is not present.
• Private residences, except when used as a licensed child-care facility.
• Other exemptions: on theatrical production sites, if critical to the production; in medical research or treatment sites, if necessary for research; and in patient smoking areas of long-term health care facilities.

As an Employer What Do I Need To Do?

• If the building is entirely smokefree, the employer must clearly post “No Smoking” signs at each building entrance.
• If the building has a designated smoking area which meets all of the requirements in AB 13, signs stating “Smoking is Prohibited Except in Designated Areas” must be clearly posted at each building entrance.
• If a nonemployee is observed smoking in the enclosed work area, the employer must ask that individual to refrain from doing so.

What About Enforcement?

Enforcement is not a problem when employers and employees understand their rights and responsibilities. In the event that employers do violate the law set forth in AB 13, they may be subject to criminal penalties, as follows:

• A first violation is punishable by a fine not to exceed $100.
• A second violation within one year is punishable by a fine not to exceed $200.
• Third, and additional, violations within one year are punishable by fines not to exceed $500.
• After a third violation, employees may file a complaint with Cal-OSHA. Cal-OSHA penalties are up to $7,000 per violation.

If you have any questions concerning this law and its requirements, please call the Riverside County Tobacco Control Project at:

(909)358-6425	Western Riverside County
(760)863-8444	Eastern Riverside County

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