California lawmakers put top state officials tasked with protecting worker health and safety under intense fire Wednesday for falling short of their mission, as highlighted by a recent state audit.

The hearing in Sacramento exposed deficiencies hampering Cal/OSHA’s ability to prevent job-related deaths and injuries. The agency failed to conduct some on-site inspections and levy appropriate fines, even when doing so would have better protected workers, the report published July 17 said.

The California state auditor identified severe staffing shortages and outdated policies and practices as “root causes,” including handling investigations primarily on paper, which makes it difficult to track the more than 12,000 complaints Cal/OSHA receives annually.

“Employers who put workers in da

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