The legislation comes as manufacturers and distributors of artificial stone countertops face mounting litigation from workers who have contracted occupational silicosis after breathing respirable crystalline silica during the fabrication process. The bill has drawn co-sponsors from Arizona, Georgia, Minnesota and New Jersey.

"The reason that they contract these diseases is not because of the product itself,” said Michael McCall, a partner at Walsworth LLP in California who has spent 42 years practicing law, including extensive work defending distributors of artificial stone products. “It's because of how these products are fabricated, and the fact that sometimes we're dealing with fabricators that don't follow all the rules." 

Engineered stone, made from crushed quartz mixed with resins, emits 90 percent silica when sanded and polished during fabrication, according to McCall. That high exposure level makes proper respiratory protection critical.

"That's why you have to make sure you have all the respiratory stuff, the compliance stuff in place to protect your workers," he said.

The bill would preempt most civil claims against manufacturers and sellers of stone slab products when injuries result from third-party fabrication. It would also dismiss pending lawsuits against manufacturers and sellers if enacted.

"It does say that any pending lawsuits against manufacturers and sellers would be dismissed if this were to go into effect," said McCall. "So basically, it would end lawsuits against manufacturers and sellers, and say, look, fabricators, it's your fault that these guys are getting sick."

Workers who develop silicosis would be limited to pursuing workers' compensation claims rather than third-party civil suits, transforming what are currently products liability cases into workers' compensation cases.

Two California trials illustrate the stakes. In the first case to go to trial, a jury in downtown Los Angeles awarded $52.4 million to Gustavo Reyes Gonzalez, a 34-year-old worker who required a double lung transplant. The jury assigned 70 percent of liability to others, including fabricators.

A second trial in Torrance produced a defense verdict, with jurors finding the manufacturer and seller were not at fault for a worker's death from silicosis.

"They decided that it wasn't the manufacturer and seller's fault that the decedent died from silicosis, it was the fabricator's fault," said McCall. "And the fact is that he wasn't given the proper breathing, respiratory protection."

The bill's sponsors argue that engineered slabs are not defective when sold and pose no danger until they are improperly fabricated.

"When they sell them, they go to fabricators, and then they can't control the fabricators and how they do it," said McCall. "So if you've got a good fabricator who is following all the OSHA regulations and labor code regulations that we have here in California, then your workers are not going to get sick."

The issue has drawn international attention. Australia banned engineered stone in July 2024, citing risks to workers.

"They said enough, we're not… there's too much of a risk of silicosis to the workers, so they banned it," said McCall. "But if it's fabricated properly, then it's really not as harmful as banning the product."

Despite the legislation's introduction, its passage is far from certain. Congress typically passes only a small fraction of the bills introduced each session.

"There are 10,000 to 20,000 bills introduced every two years," said McCall. "The 118th Congress, which was 2023 to 2025, they passed 3% of the bills that were introduced. Three percent. 614 out of 19,315."

Regardless of the bill's fate, McCall urged fabricators to take immediate steps to protect themselves and their workers.

"The best thing that I can tell a fabricator is just follow the rules," he said. "You need to make sure that you do air monitoring that OSHA requires."

He recommended air-fed respirators as the most effective protection, despite worker resistance to the bulky equipment.

"I know the workers don't like wearing the air-fed respirators, and it looks like you're in a space suit," said McCall. "But the fact is, that's how you protect your workers, and they're not going to get sick."

McCall noted that the invisible dust particles pose the greatest danger.

"It's not the dust you can see that actually hurts you, it's the dust you can't see," he said. "Those are the particles that actually get into your lungs and cause the scarring and the silicosis."

In California, fabricators must comply with Labor Code Section 5204, which governs worker protections related to respirable crystalline silica exposure.

"This isn't just a California problem," said McCall, pointing to the geographic diversity of the bill's co-sponsors. "You've got co-sponsors that are around the country that see this as a bigger problem."