Federal OSHA Report Slams Nevada State Plan

After a spate of construction fatalities in Nevada that resulted in what many observers considered a timid and ineffectual response by state regulators, federal OSHA conducted a thorough review of the state's safety program. The bottom line: 
 
"a number of serious concerns with the program's operation, including failure to issue appropriate willful and repeat citations, poorly trained inspectors and lack of follow-up to determine whether hazards were abated. The comprehensive evaluation of the Nevada OSHA plan points to an urgent need for corrections in oversight and changes in all phases of its workplace safety and health program."
 
Even more importantly, Federal OSHA is pledging to review all state plan programs, a number of which have been the subject of complaints by workers and worker advocates. Kudos to Federal OSHA for taking this action. Meanwhile US Rep. George Miller announced that his House Labor and Education committee will hold a hearing on Thursday, October 29 "to examine the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s critical review of Nevada’s workplace health and safety program." See the committee's webpage for details on the hearing.  

“This report confirms that there are serious problems with Nevada OSHA that need to be addressed immediately,” said Miller. “Workers in Nevada deserve to know that basic health and safety protections are enforced by the agency tasked to protect them.”

 
Read OSHA's full report on the Nevada plan here.