Thursday, October 22, 2009
Report reveals problems with Nevada OSHA program
OSHA issued a report (.pdf file) Oct. 20 identifying serious flaws in Nevada's OSHA program, including failure to issue appropriate citations for willful and repeat violations, investigators who lack adequate training in construction dangers, and failure to verify whether employers corrected hazards.
The investigation was prompted by the state's 25 workplace fatalities from January 2008 through June 2009, along with media coverage of the program's inefficiencies and complaints filed at the federal level.
Among other findings:
- In almost half the fatality cases, the state did not notify the deceased's family members of the investigation, depriving them of the opportunity to speak with investigators.
- Nevada OSHA agreed to conduct 2,900 inspections a year, which breaks down to 95-115 inspections per investigator, "far too many…to do a thorough job," according to the report.
- Cases were not organized consistently.
The report indicated Nevada's new leadership cooperated with investigators and committed to fixing the problems.
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