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STEVE MARCUS / LAS VEGAS SUN file
An impromptu memorial for killed construction worker Dustin Tarter appears on a beam at the CityCenter construction site in July 2008.
Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2009 | 2 a.m.
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- Editorial: Feds slam state OSHA (10-22-2009)
- Feds' appraisal of Nevada OSHA damning (10-21-2009)
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When the U.S. House Education and Labor Committee holds a hearing Thursday to examine the failings of Nevada’s workplace-safety program, representatives will try to answer two overarching questions: Why did the state agency charged with keeping workers safe on the job fail so badly — and are those failures symptomatic of a national problem?
The inquiry stems from a Labor Department report last week that painted the Nevada Occupational Safety and Health Administration as incompetent and ineffective in the wake of a deadly building boom. The probe examined the agency’s oversight of 25 workplace deaths in the state over an 18-month period. It found the state’s staff ill-equipped to investigate accidents and administrators unwilling to impose hefty penalties on companies.
At stake could be Nevada’s control over the workplace-safety program. Nevada is one of 22 states operating such a program, which is supposed to protect private and public employees. The federal government shoulders the responsibility in all other states.
Federal officials have required Nevada OSHA to submit a corrective action plan by Nov. 20 and expect the agency to make the necessary changes over the next year.
Thursday’s hearing promises to drive home the urgency, with testimony from Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, among others. Reid “is disappointed that the past leadership of Nevada OSHA failed to take the appropriate steps that could have saved lives,” Reid spokesman Jon Summers said Monday.
The hearing also will pack the emotional punch of Debi Koehler-Fergen, whose son Travis died while trying to save a co-worker in a toxic manhole at the Orleans.
Nevada OSHA officials have acknowledged the failures and pledged to make improvements. On Monday, Don Jayne, the new head of the state Industrial Relations Division, which oversees OSHA, said he welcomes the increased federal oversight, which he said “will go a long way to prevent things like this from happening again.”
He noted that during the George W. Bush administration the agency received mostly positive reviews.
Jayne summed up the message he intends to deliver in his testimony this week: “We’ve got a car here in need of a tuneup, not in need of replacement. Where the problems may appear dramatic looking back, I’m facing forward and focused on getting the resources to fix them ... With proper leadership and proper direction, we can change things.”
Some safety experts and lawmakers, however, wonder if Nevada OSHA is up to the job. They cite the appointment of Stephen Coffield, the agency’s newly installed chief administrator. He was enforcement supervisor and acting agency head during a spate of deaths on Las Vegas Strip construction projects.
In a series that won a 2009 Pulitzer Prize, the Sun reported that during Nevada OSHA’s investigations of the deaths, fines imposed on companies were routinely reduced after negotiations, and the families of workers killed on the job were rarely notified investigations were under way.
Rep. Dina Titus speaks at the College of Southern Nevada in Henderson Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2009.
Democratic Rep. Dina Titus sits on the House labor committee and, through a spokesman, said the federal report raises concerns about leadership at Nevada OSHA. Titus questioned whether the agency is capable of conducting the internal review requested by the Labor Department.
“The fact that the new chief administrator was there during that time raises the question (of whether) he is the right person to make the necessary changes,” spokesman Andrew Stoddard said.
Jayne defended the appointment of Coffield, a former U.S. Air Force safety engineer and manager and 14-year Nevada OSHA employee. He described Coffield as “an individual who wants to effect change … someone who knows change is necessary.”
State legislators also are pledging greater oversight.
Senate Majority Leader Steven Horsford and Assembly Majority Leader John Oceguera issued a statement last week that called the federal report “a clear, conclusive reaffirmation of our contention during the 2009 legislative session that Nevada OSHA has not done its job to protect Nevada workers.”
On Monday, the Legislative Commission, an interim legislative body made up of leaders of both houses, appointed a subcommittee to review the federal report and ensure that the agency is making immediate regulatory changes to address its deficiencies. The group will also look at potential statutory changes for the next legislative session.
Senate Majority Leader Steven Horsford, D-Las Vegas, talks to Sen. Maggie Carlton, D-Las Vegas, during a Senate floor session at the Legislature in Carson City on Wednesday, May 20, 2009.
Sen. Maggie Carlton, the new subcommittee’s chairwoman, underscored the urgency.
“The state plan is a privilege,” Carlton said. “If we don’t get our act together, we could go back under the federal OSHA plan — and if we fail to address the problems, we should. If we’re going to take on this responsibility, we need to take it on thoroughly and with conviction.”
A federal takeover would be unprecedented. The federal government came close to taking over North Carolina’s OSHA program in the early 1990s, after 25 people died in a fire at a chicken-processing plant. The 11-year-old Imperial Food Products plant was never inspected for safety. In that case, the AFL-CIO, the nation’s largest labor organization, unsuccessfully petitioned the Labor Department to strip North Carolina of its power to enforce federal health and safety laws.
In Nevada, Danny Thompson, head of the state AFL-CIO, said he is hopeful the federal report and committee hearing will “put some teeth back in Nevada OSHA.” Acknowledging the agency’s failures, he said he has faith in the new leadership to make the necessary changes and petitioned the Legislature to better fund the workplace-safety plan.
The agency has complained of high turnover of inspectors, a problem it largely attributes to low salaries. Thompson agreed, saying that during the boom years Nevada OSHA was little more than “the training ground for the private industry,” as government inspectors left their posts for higher-paying jobs on large casino projects.
“That’s still a problem today and it’s a problem the Legislature needs to address,” Thompson said. “But I’m willing to give the whole new team a chance to prove they want to do something different.”
Steve Ross, head of the Southern Nevada Building and Construction Trades Council, sounded a similar note, pledging to work with Nevada OSHA to improve training and safety initiatives.
“Construction being the No. 2 industry in the state of Nevada, it should have had the full attention of the state to begin with — from Nevada OSHA to the labor commissioner to the contractors board,” Ross said. “I think this is the mega wake-up call, and unfortunately people had to die for that to happen.”
Nevada Miners are also at Risk. NV Mine Safety and Training Section(MSATS) under Dept of Bus. and Ind. have failed to address formal complaints relating to Safety AND Health Violations at Round Mountain Gold Corp. Smokey Valley Mine. NV MSATS has worked hard at NOT investigating/inspecting formal complaints and have lied, AND ignored NRS 512.200 Workers may request inspection of mine; conditions.
How can Safety be built on a house with a faulty foundation?
PRupp B125 SP NV 89047
Nevada State OSHA is a joke, and for that matter OSHA itself is a corrupt, useless agency which, as I see it, lost its way a long time ago forgetting that it was/is supposed to protect the workers from harm - not protect big business! Firsthand, I got to see Nevada OSHA bend to the pressure of Casinos...Harrahs, Boyd Gaming, MGM, the system is broken. There are strong laws, but they mean absolutely nothing if they are not enforced, and more importantly enforced to the full extent of the law! Slapping someones wrist, over and over again, is not going to change their evil ways.
For instance, Harrah's Entertainment Inc performed illegal remodels of thousands of their hotel rooms, in multiple hotels, over a period of 10+ years. They left every room that they touched unsafe for the public to stay in, and during these remodels Harrah's exposed their construction workers, hotel employees and Guests to ASBESTOS, a known carcenogenic, not once, not twice, but multiple times, and the real sick part of this is the fact that OSHA's ineptness & unwillingness to protect the public allowed Harrah's to contaminate all of us! There are Federal & State laws that cover ASBESTOS, but if not enforced what good are they? When I went to work for Harrah's at Harrah's, the company had absolutely no safeguards in place protecting us from the ASBESTOS, which they knew was located throughout the hotel. The law required proper training, the law required marking of the ASBESTOS areas - none of which Harrah's complied with. Harrah's willfully exposed all of us to ASBESTOS, and Nevada OSHA stood by and let it happen. In a perfect world, those responsible for this would be held accountable, investigated, fired and jailed for Public Corruption - they sold us out!
Taking a look at Federal OSHA and its troubles over the past few years they seem to be no better, setting a very poor example for State OSHA's. How hard is it to uphold the law? Is it asking too much of these agencies to do their job, no more no less? We, the American People need to stand up and let Washington know that this is unacceptable, that we will not tolerate this type of behavior any longer. Workers should be assured of a safe work environment, and if there are problems, those problems should be addressed immediately and fixed.
No more excuses, no more slaps on the wrist - make companies accountable for their actions or non-actions by enforcing the laws as they should be enforced by government entities that are willing to do their job. Make people accountable...what a novel concept, don't you think?
Nevadans are too stupid to know what is going on in State government (and local for that matter)!
I hate to be a party pooper in the piling on of how bad OHSA is, but there's a false premise that's been allowed to permeate this discussion from day one. Yes, the Sun garnered a Pulitzer and the pols are making as much political hay as possible. But overlooked is one simple fact: Nevada OSHA didn't kill anyone! and further more, there is no proof that had there been a 30-hour class in place, more lives would have been saved. What's missing from the discussion is any talk of restrictions on the pace and proximity of various construction activities. That's much more likely to save lives.
Nevada OSHA is toothless, and has been for quite some time! Unless you get rid of people like Stephen Coffield, who in my estimation is part of the problem...not part of the solution. Mr. Coffield had his chance to "do the right thing" and he made the conscious choice not to! He should be fired and replaced - he failed to protect us. Public corruption is what he should be investigated for along with the rest of Nevada OSHA. My vote is for Nevada OSHA to be closed down and replaced with Federal OSHA.
I personally know two 501 Engineers that were fired by Harrah's Entertainment for standing up for their rights regarding ASBESTOS exposure to them and the other workers, hotel employees and Guests of the hotel during a massive remodel at the Flamingo Hotel. Both were blacklisted from working in town...both filed whistleblower complaints with Nevada OSHA and Nevada OSHA did absolutely nothing...they refused to do anything! The OSHA investigator was a joke, and helped Harrah's again sweep illegal activity under the carpet.
Senator Harry Reid, you to are part of the problem rather than part of the solution. I contacted your office with very serious concerns, and you blew me off...you wouldn't get involved because it had to do with Harrah's Entertainment Inc., powerful friends that contribute to your warchest! I think that you are corrupt, with no ethics, & no morals...you are sir an embarrassment to the state of Nevada & more importantly to yourself. Now I know why the MOB nicknamed you "Cleanface" and everyone else can with the following link:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1...
brooks250: You are right Nevada OSHA didn't kill anyone directly, but they certainly played there role by failing to uphold the law, and failing to enforce the laws when they were broken effectively. OSHA's actions & no-actions contributed to workers deaths in this state, there is absolutely no question about this!
What about the 10's of thousands of construction workers, hotel employees and hotel guests that were exposed to asbestos by Harrah's Entertainment Inc. during both their highly publicized illegal remodels & legal ones as well? Asbestos takes years to manifest itself, and though not as spectacular as an immediate death...it causes death just the same. I expect to be protected at work from such things by my employer, I do not expect, nor will I tolerate any company putting me willfully at risk like Harrah's has done over the years. The sickest thing of all about this is the fact that Harrah's knew about the Asbestos and they did everything that they could to hide it from their employees, they (Harrah's) willfully put us at risk for the sake of their precious bottom line. Gary Loveman should be so very proud of himself, he is the worst kind of scum that there is, putting money before the safety of his employees...he has no ethics what-so-ever.