Nevada OSHA officials to respond to charges in federal report

Nevada OSHA officials have scheduled a news conference for 3 p.m. today to address a federal safety report that is highly critical of the state agency.

The conference will be attended by Nevada Division of Industrial Relations Administrator Donald Jayne and newly appointed state OSHA Chief Administrative Officer Stephen Coffield.

Federal safety officials found “a number of serious concerns” with the state’s occupational safety and health program and “an urgent need for corrections in oversight and changes in all phases” of the state’s program, a report released this morning by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration shows.

State OSHA leadership and staff are developing action plans and making changes that will allow the state to implement the recommendations outlined in this report, the report said.

“The goal of Nevada OSHA is to revitalize the staff, mend fences with Federal OSHA, restore public confidence in the agency and perform thorough, legally sufficient inspections that will be sustained throughout the review process,” the report said. “Nevada OSHA is committed to enhancing its operations so that it is better prepared to address the worker safety and health concerns.”

The report says the state program fails to issue appropriate citations, has poorly trained inspectors and fails to adequately follow up on cases to determine whether hazards identified by the state agency have been corrected, the federal OSHA said.

The report also identified many “systemic issues” including not citing businesses with identified violations, not notifying families of deceased workers about fatality investigations and not giving families an opportunity to provide information pertinent to a case. The report also said state OSHA investigators demonstrated a limited knowledge of construction safety hazards.

The federal agency began its evaluation of the state program, which was conducted in July and August, in response to a series of deaths and workplace accidents at construction sites along the Strip, including six deaths at CityCenter and two at the neighboring Cosmopolitan site.

Federal officials evaluated investigations of Nevada’s 25 workplace fatalities between Jan.1, 2008, and June this year. It also evaluated two complaints the federal agency received regarding the state’s investigation into the February 2007 death of two workers at The Orleans and a complaint inspection at the Luxor.

The study also made 18 recommendations that the state agency should adopt, including:

— Conduct an internal review of its citation policies and practices.

— Work with legal counsel to develop training to improve the development of legally sufficient cases and increase its pursuit of violations.

— Review all agency procedures and consider evaluating potential repeat violations.

— Case files must be reviewed more thoroughly, including review of photographs for hazards not identified or addressed by the investigators.

Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis said Nevada OSHA “cooperated fully” throughout the evaluation process and the state agency “pledged to take prompt corrective action.”

Coffield, a 13-year veteran of Nevada OSHA, was promoted in early September by Jayne. Jayne, whose division oversees state OSHA, was hired in March.

Details of the report have raised concerns about federal OSHA’s monitoring of other state plans, according to a statement by Jordan Barab, the acting assistant federal OSHA secretary.

“As a result of the deficiencies identified in Nevada OSHA’s program and this administration’s goal to move from reaction to prevention, we will strengthen the oversight, monitoring and evaluation of all state programs,” Barab said in a statement.

Federal law encourages states to develop and operate their own job-safety programs, which have to be approved and monitored by the federal OSHA.

Nevada is one of 27 states and territories approved to operate its own program.

Contact reporter Arnold M. Knightly at aknightly@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3893.