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Hold the state accountable
Federal government should investigate whether Nevada OSHA can do the job
Monday, April 27, 2009 | 2:11 a.m.
By law, the federal Labor Department is supposed to review state occupational safety and health administrations every year. It is a review that is often seen as little more than perfunctory. It shouldn’t be, particularly in Nevada.
OSHA here has clearly had problems, as demonstrated by the 12 construction deaths on the Strip in an 18-month period. The state didn’t aggressively intervene to stop that tragic string of deaths until after the Las Vegas Sun started reporting the problems last year.
Nevada OSHA should have been working to stop the accidents as soon as the pattern emerged, but the agency was — and is — understaffed and underfunded. And there was a prevailing attitude that assumed that fatal accidents were an expected part of construction projects.
The question now is whether Nevada OSHA has changed and learned a lesson from this tragic situation. Should there be another boom in construction in the near future, is anyone confident that Nevada OSHA could do the job?
Typically, the annual reviews gloss over questions like that, but the situation in Nevada demands greater attention. Federal OSHA should understand that. It found “serious concerns” with the way the state handled the investigation of two deaths off the Strip at the Orleans.
After a high-level political appointee got involved in the case, the state significantly reduced the citation from “willful” to “serious” and slashed the fines against the Orleans’ owner, Boyd Gaming. The federal review, however, found that Boyd Gaming’s actions fit the “exact definition” of a willful violation.
State officials bristled at the federal review and denied there was a problem. Nevada OSHA chief Tom Czehowski wrote, “We do not agree that the handling of this case raises significant concerns. A more thorough investigation by Federal OSHA personnel would have been welcome.”
Good. Then he should welcome a complete and independent review to determine whether his agency truly can protect working Nevadans.
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Nevada OSHA will have to be at least effective as the Protecting America's Workers Act of 2009.
Specifically, the Protecting America's Workers Act:
Protects More Workers; Expands OSHA coverage to include state and local public employees and federal government workers.
Expands coverage to millions of other workers inadequately covered such as airline and railroad employees, and Department of Energy contractors.
Strengthens Health and Safety Penalties; Raises civil penalties and indexes those penalties to inflation. Establishes mandatory minimum penalties for violations involving worker deaths. Allows felony prosecutions against employers who commit willful violations that result in death or serious bodily injury, and extends such penalties to responsible corporate officers. Requires OSHA to investigate all cases of death and serious injuries (i.e. incidents that result in the hospitalization of 2 or more employees).
Improves Whistleblower Protections;Codifies regulations that give workers the right to refuse to do hazardous work. Clarifies that employees cannot be discriminated against for reporting injuries, illnesses or unsafe conditions, and brings the procedures for investigating and adjudicating discrimination complaints into line with other safety and health and whistleblower laws.
Allows Workers and Their Families to Hold Dangerous Employers Accountable; Provides workers and employee representatives the right to contest OSHA's failure to issue citations, classification of its citations, and proposed penalties. Gives injured workers, their families and families of workers who died in work-related incidents the right to meet with investigators, receive copies of citations, and to have an opportunity to make a statement before any settlement negotiations. Clarifies that the time spent by an employee accompanying an OSHA inspector during an investigation is considered time worked, for which a worker must be compensated. Prohibits OSHA from designating a citation as an "unclassified citation" where an employer can avoid the potential consequences of a "willful" violation, the most serious violation. Allows any worker or their representative to object to a modification or withdrawal of a citation, and entitles them to a hearing before the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.