California First Aid Kit Requirements Under Cal/OSHA

California first aid kit requirements come from Cal/OSHA under Title 8, Section 3400, which tells every employer to keep “adequate first-aid materials, approved by the consulting physician, readily available for employees on every job.”¹ The regulation doesn’t publish a single contents list, because the hazards of a law office aren’t the hazards of a sawmill. In practice, employers either have a consulting physician approve the kit for their specific workplace or stock it to the ANSI Z308.1 standard that Cal/OSHA references as its benchmark.²

What “Readily Available” Means in Practice

Kits have to be kept sanitary and inspected often enough to replace used or expired items.¹ A single kit rarely covers a large facility, a multi-story building, or a worksite spread across acreage. No employee should have to cross significant distance or move around obstacles to reach supplies. Mark the locations and keep access clear during the workday.

Minimum Contents Under ANSI Z308.1

The ANSI Z308.1 standard Cal/OSHA points to sets the floor for a basic workplace kit:³

16 adhesive bandages, 1″ x 3″
1 roll of adhesive tape, 5 yards total
10 antiseptic applications, 0.5g each
6 burn treatment applications, 0.5g each
1 absorbent compress, at least 32 square inches
4 sterile pads, 3″ x 3″
1 triangular bandage, 40″ x 40″ x 56″
2 pairs of medical exam gloves

This is the floor. Any workplace with higher-risk exposures needs to add to it, and some workplaces have separate rules on top.

Eyewash and Drenching Equipment

If employees could get corrosive chemicals in their eyes or on their body, the employer must provide emergency drenching or flushing equipment within the immediate work area. This requirement sits in both federal OSHA and Cal/OSHA standards.⁴ A standard first aid kit does not satisfy it.

Bloodborne Pathogen Exposure

Workplaces where employees could contact blood or other potentially infectious materials fall under federal bloodborne pathogen rules. Employers with occupational exposure must supply appropriate personal protective equipment such as gloves, gowns, and eye protection, along with disinfectants for cleaning contaminated surfaces. Broken glass in a contaminated area has to be picked up with mechanical tools like a brush and dustpan, never by hand.⁵

Construction Sites: Section 1512

Construction employers follow a more specific rule. Section 1512 of Title 8 requires at least one first aid kit in a weatherproof container on every project, inspected regularly and restocked promptly. Contents can be set by a licensed physician or taken from the table in Section 1512 itself, which goes beyond the basic ANSI kit to include an eye dressing packet, portable oxygen with breathing equipment, tongue depressors, and a current first aid textbook or manual.⁶ Line crews and other transient job crews follow the same rule.

Agricultural Operations: Section 3439

Agriculture has its own rule under Section 3439. First aid materials must be immediately available at farm headquarters or on worker transportation buses. When crews are scattered and a traveling foreman visits them, a kit in the foreman’s vehicle satisfies the requirement. At remote locations, the employer has to arrange for prompt medical attention in case of serious injuries, and at least one employee per every 20 workers at a remote site must be trained in emergency first aid.⁷

Trained Personnel on Site

A stocked kit alone doesn’t satisfy Cal/OSHA. When no infirmary, clinic, or hospital is close to the workplace, at least one person on site has to be trained in first aid, and the training must meet American Red Cross or Mine Safety and Health Administration standards.¹ “Close” is a judgment call tied to how quickly real emergency care can reach the site; distance, traffic, and terrain all factor in.

Are AEDs Required?

Automated external defibrillators are not currently required in most California workplaces, though OSHA encourages employers to install them and publishes guidance on setting up AED programs and finding training.⁸ Federal law gives anyone who uses or tries to use an AED on someone experiencing a perceived medical emergency broad immunity from civil liability for resulting harm, with exceptions for willful misconduct, gross negligence, or reckless behavior, and for licensed health professionals acting within their scope of practice. For the employer who buys the device, that immunity depends on maintaining and testing the AED, notifying local emergency responders of its placement, and training the employees expected to use it.⁹

Vehicle First Aid Kits

The workplace rules above sit under Title 8. A separate set of rules under Title 13, Section 1243, administered by the California Highway Patrol, requires first aid kits on four categories of vehicles: school buses, youth buses, farm labor vehicles, and general public paratransit vehicles. Each kit must be readily visible, accessible, and plainly marked, and required contents and kit size vary by vehicle type and passenger capacity.¹⁰ Private passenger vehicles are not subject to these rules, and the general workplace standard does not require a kit in every company car.

Penalties for Noncompliance

Cal/OSHA enforces through inspections, which can come from routine scheduling, an employee complaint, or an accident investigation. A serious violation, meaning a condition with a substantial probability of death or serious harm, carries a civil penalty of up to $25,000 per violation under Labor Code Section 6428.¹¹ General and regulatory violations such as recordkeeping or posting failures can reach up to $16,285 per violation. Willful violations run from a minimum of $11,632 to a maximum of $162,851.¹² These figures adjust periodically; check the current Cal/OSHA schedule before relying on a specific number.

For the regulated vehicle categories, CHP enforces during inspections, and failing to comply with rules adopted under Vehicle Code Sections 34501 and 34501.5 is a misdemeanor under Vehicle Code Section 34506.¹³

When Treatment Crosses the Line Into a Recordable Injury

Not every injury treated from the kit stays off the books. Under federal OSHA recordkeeping rules, a work-related injury has to be logged on the OSHA 300 Log if it results in medical treatment beyond first aid, days away from work, restricted duties, or loss of consciousness.¹⁴

OSHA defines “first aid” narrowly for this purpose. It includes non-prescription medications at non-prescription strength, cleaning and flushing surface wounds, bandages and gauze pads, butterfly bandages or Steri-Strips, hot or cold therapy, non-rigid supports like elastic wraps, removing splinters with tweezers, and eye patches.¹⁴ Once treatment crosses into sutures, staples, rigid immobilization devices, prescription-strength medications, or physical therapy, the case becomes recordable even if the employee never misses a day. Who provides the treatment doesn’t change the classification; a bandage applied by a physician is still first aid.

1
Department of Industrial Relations. California Code of Regulations, Title 8, Section 3400 – Medical Services and First Aid
2
California Department of Industrial Relations. First Aid
3
California Department of Industrial Relations. ANSI Z308.1 Minimum Kit Contents Table
4
Occupational Safety and Health Administration. 1910.151 – Medical Services and First Aid
5
Occupational Safety and Health Administration. 1910.1030 – Bloodborne Pathogens
6
California Code of Regulations. California Code of Regulations, Title 8, Section 1512 – Emergency Medical Services
7
Department of Industrial Relations. California Code of Regulations, Title 8, Section 3439 – First-Aid Kit
8
Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs)
9
GovInfo. 42 USC 238q – Liability Regarding Emergency Use of Automated External Defibrillators
10
Cornell Law Institute. California Code of Regulations Title 13, Section 1243 – First Aid Kits
11
California Legislative Information. California Labor Code Section 6428
12
California Department of Industrial Relations. Cal/OSHA Increases Civil Penalty Amounts for 2025
13
California Legislative Information. California Vehicle Code Section 34506
14
Occupational Safety and Health Administration. 1904.7 – General Recording Criteria