Construction Worker Deaths on the Strip:

OSHA up for rare inquiry

Lawmakers call for hearings, suggest more inspectors for safety agency

By Alexandra Berzon

Wed, Apr 2, 2008 (2 a.m.)

Oceguera

Townsend

Part One: Pace is the new peril (3-30-2008)
Part Two: OSHA goes easy (3-31-2008)
Part Three: Not in this city (4-1-2008)
Photo Gallery: Construction Deaths (3-31-2008)
Video: Cost of Expansion (3-30-2008)

Occupational Safety and Health Administration

Nevada lawmakers said Tuesday they expect the Legislature will hold hearings on safety lapses involved in deaths at Strip construction sites and on the state Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s conduct after the fatalities.

“This is a tragedy for these families and a huge disappointment for policymakers who have worked so hard to create a very fine system where employees and employers can work together,” said Sen. Randolf Townsend, a Reno Republican who is chairman of the Commerce and Labor Committee that oversees OSHA.

John Oceguera, D-Las Vegas, chairman of the Commerce and Labor Committee in the Assembly, said he expects legislation addressing Nevada OSHA to come before the committee during the 2009 session.

If it does, it will be the first time in at least several sessions. Lorne Malkiewich, director of the Legislative Counsel Bureau, said no significant reforms of OSHA were proposed during the 2005 and 2007 legislative sessions.

Nine construction workers have died in eight accidents at CityCenter, Cosmopolitan, Fontainebleau, Trump and Palazzo over the past 16 months. The Sun reported this week that Nevada OSHA investigators have found a pattern of safety violations on construction sites but routinely withdrew or watered down their citations after meeting privately with contractors.

Lawmakers said Tuesday they were aware of some of the accidents but were surprised and dismayed by the total number and by OSHA’s timid response.

Federal OSHA officials said the withdrawal of citations in a fatality case should be done only rarely. Nevada OSHA is required by federal law to uphold safety standards at least as strict as those enforced at the federal level.

Until the early 1990s, safety regulation in the state was conducted as part of a state-controlled workplace insurance program. During a contentious series of battles in the Legislature, the insurance program was privatized, and OSHA came to stand alone as a training and safety enforcement agency.

Democrats argued at the time that the private insurance system would lead to less safety oversight. Republicans, including Townsend, argued that it would provide more incentive for safe workplaces to reduce the cost of insurance, said Townsend and former Sen. Joe Neal, a North Las Vegas Democrat. Both senators were involved in discussions at the time.

“I had said, ‘The way you fix the problem with workers compensation in the state of Nevada is just not to let anybody get hurt,’ and we vowed to create safer workplaces,” Townsend recalled. “It is a real disappointment that we’re starting to find cracks in the system with these terrible tragedies. There’s something that’s wrong.”

Townsend said the Legislature may have to allot more money to OSHA to hire more inspectors. Several Democratic lawmakers agreed.

“We need to look at what we can do as policymakers to ask the appropriate questions,” said Sen. Steven Horsford, a Las Vegas Democrat. “Are the necessary inspectors in place? Is the proper training being conducted? Are we in compliance? Is this a case where the resources weren’t in place so that government oversight wasn’t what it needed to be?”

OSHA did not increase the size of its inspection staff in Las Vegas between 2001 and 2007, even though the number of workers in the area increased by 200,000.

The agency added one position this year and is to add two more in 2009 as the OSHA budget increases from $6.9 million to $8.7 million.

However, the agency currently has five inspector vacancies in Las Vegas because it has a hard time holding on to workers, several people familiar with the agency say.

To Senate Minority Leader Dina Titus of Las Vegas and several other Democratic lawmakers called by the Sun on Tuesday, the worker deaths and OSHA’s response point to a culture in the state that favors limited government regulation of business — and originates in the governor’s office.

Titus said OSHA’s conduct is an example of Republican administrations’ letting businesses off the hook and favoring greed above all else.

“I do think the laws are on the books already,” she said. “I just don’t know what the Legislature can do. We can put public pressure on by having hearings, and I would ask for that. Ultimately, you can legislate all you want but if the sanctions aren’t imposed it doesn’t do any good.”

The governor declined to comment Tuesday, via a representative.

Several Democratic legislators said they will ask their staffs look into construction safety and OSHA to determine whether to draft legislation.

AFL-CIO Executive Secretary-Treasurer Danny Thompson said the labor group may propose OSHA reform legislation for the upcoming session.

Discussion: 8 comments so far…

By letjusticeprevail

4/2/08 at 7:04 a.m.

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Finally! Thank you to those who will take a stand and hold these hearings. Maybe now some action will be taken to stop the insanity being caused by OSHA and to finally see some form of justice for the families of our workers. Please do not forget the men killed at the Orleans on 2/2/07. My son was 26 and neither he nor the other man he was trying to save had to die that day. It was negligence pure and simple. It may not have been a construction site but they still died while working and NV OSHA let everyone down by dropping 'willful neglect' violations to merely serious. Read the comment from 'inspector' under yesterday's Sun article "Not in this city". The laws are in place and I believe the inspectors are doing their job, this comes from above their heads. Of course they can't seem to keep inspectors. The inspector on the Orleans case was so angry over what went on after his determination of 'will neglect' was reduced by the acting director of NV OSHA and Elliot and others all the way to the governors office he quit! Don't blame all the inspectors - go to the top!
By Felicity

4/2/08 at 7:05 a.m.

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The system does not work and will not work if you have OSHA employees who have no back bones to stand up for what is right. Quit letting the contractors line the pockets of these "investigators" and do whats right. How can anyone go to bed at night knowing that men and women are being MURDERED at jobsites, at the neglegence of contractors and be okay with the decisions that they made for the day. They close their eyes and walk the other way. Have some guts, the only way lives can be saved is to shut the jobs down and fine the hell out the companies. ( Stick to the fines )Eventually companies would get tired of paying fines in the hundreds of thousands and make their jobs safe.
By spurdy

4/2/08 at 9:36 a.m.

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Leave it to you, Dena Titus, to turn this into a party platform. This has not gone far enough into legislation yet for you to make my brother's death a partisan issue. The dying of, and injustice for all these men and there families is a result of a system that is negligent, failed and corrupt. The only side anyone should be taking right now is the one for change!
Simonne Billingsley Purdy
By letjusticeprevail

4/2/08 at 12:22 p.m.

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You're right on S. Purdy. This isn't about politics, this is about the injustice that has happened and it is a system that is not being enforced and is certainly corrupt.
With reference to my comment above, the comment by "inspector" is under the article entitled "OSHA goes easy" and not the one I listed. It's not just corrupt investigators, it goes all the way up the chain. Some investigators want to enforce their findings but are blocked by the officials above them and reduced.
Yes Felicity, they should stick to the fines but it doesn't help if the fines are reduced in private meetings between the companies and OSHA. The fines for my son's death was nothing compared to what they would have been had the director of OSHA not caved in and reduced the citations. What the casino paid was pocket change for the owner.
Write these lawmakers and make our voices heard so they will realize we are just as outraged over what's been happening as people are over what the doctors at the colonoscopy clinics did. They want those doctors to go to jail, as they should be punished, but what about punishment for these jokers? The employers are covered under the blanket of workers comp. and what should happen to all the corrupt officials within OSHA and the government?
By angryfamily

4/2/08 at 12:25 p.m.

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I cannot help but believe that OSHA is on the take. So many fatalities and so little action. It just does not make sense. The fines are so minimal to begin with. If you compare the dollars here, the fines being levied against these companies when a life is lost is not even their weekly payroll. The cost for delays seems far more important than the dollars to be paid for violations. That sickens me. Hike those fines up so it costs a company a whole lot more for the violations than for the delays. I was raised to believe that life and family are far more important than any deadline. NV Prefab paid less than $18k in fines but I will never have my loved one back. I guess all the graduations, weddings, grandchildren and other family milestones are worth a mere $18k dollars(and where do those dollars go). Maybe if they would stand fast on those fines they would have enough money to pay more inspectors. That citation revenue is not going towards the families, that's for sure.

I have a novel idea, in addition to the fines force the companies to care for the injured and lost workers families for the rest of their lives. HOLD them accountable. Make them see what they have done to these families.

I would love for Jim Lindsay, Stan Johnson, Five 0, Randy Torres and all those involved in Norvin's death to sit up with me at 3 o'clock in the morning when I cannot sleep, or soothe his daughter's sobs on the phone when she feels she cannot go on. Or sit with me while I pack up his clothes and place them in a box. start his work truck on a regular basis so it does not fail mechanically. Come sit by me while I deal with losing him. Nope, that will never happen. They couldn't even pick up the damn phone and tell me how sorry they were that I had to go on living without him. How they wished they would have done things differently on that jobsite and allowed me to have him home with me. How we could have gotten married because he would be healthy and here to go through with it.

Who decided his life was worth so little. NOT ME that's for sure.

Shame on these companies, shame on these foremans that stand there and participate, shame on the owners who are so driven by the money, shame on chuck Lenhart for not forcing the issue of safety and shame on OSHA for allowing these men to give their lives in unsafe environments and not even have the guts to stand up for them after they are gone. I hope all that money buys every one of you some sleep at night.
By Disgusted

4/2/08 at 5:51 p.m.

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OSHA is undermanned and overworked. I have worked as a non union Ironworker for over 10 years.

It is normal practice to work unsafe with us. I've told several non union contractors that we are working unsafe and that we need safety equiptment like safety harnesses, eye protection, hard hats, etc......... They just yell at me and tell me if I want to work safe.....go Join the Union.

I know that this is the focus of your paper because of the high profile.

If you really want to see how dangerouse these contractors are, make an investigation on all these non union contractors that work all over the state of Nevada.

I wish I could be part of the union and be able to work safe. It is always sad when a worker loses his life at work. I'm just disgusted at how how people are reading this and imaging complete caos on these job sites. I've driven by these jobs on my way to my $19.50 an hour job.

What I see is a symphony in action.

Come visit all thes non union contractors, WE NEED YOUR HELP.
By kellysnow

4/2/08 at 10:26 p.m.

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Nevada OSHA failed the families involved in the Orleans tragedy on 2-2-07. The initial investigator repeatedly pushed for willful violations to be levied, only to be removed from the case - perhaps he was too honest for NV OSHA's liking? OSHA fined Boyd Gaming $185000. The initial fines before NV OSHA and Boyd Gaming had their private sit down broke down like this;
Willful = $420000
Serious = $12,500
Regulatory = $1000

Boyd got a pretty sweet deal after meeting privately with OSHA don't you think?

The entire OSHA report from the Orleans accident is posted online at www.myspace.com/boycottboydgaming

You can read about what actually happened that day on my page, read the OSHA report and see the condition Boyd's negligence left my husband in as he fought for his life.

Kelly Snow

Boycott Boyd Gaming
By marcinkopaul

4/8/08 at 8:13 p.m.

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MY HEART AND PRAYERS GO OUT TO THE MEN WHO DIED, BUT I AM A PROUD MEMBER OF LOCAL 872 LABORERS, AND MY UNION SPENDS HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS ON SAFETY PROGRAMS, AND THE AGENTS OF LOCAL 872 ARE "ON TOP OF THEIR GAME" WHEN IT COMES TO SAFTEY FOR ITS MEMBERS !I WORKED AT CITY CENTER LAST YEAR AND HAD TO UNDERGO A GRUELING 2 HOUR INTENSE SAFETY PROGRAM, I WAS THEN EMPLOYED BY "CLAYTON COATINGS" WHO HAD THEIR OWN SAFETY MANAGER WHO PUT HIS HEART AND SOUL INTO SAFETY FOR HIS MEN !!! I FELT MORE SAFE WORKING FOR CLAYTON COATINGS THAN DRIVING TO AND FROM WORK EACH DAY !!!!!