Las Vegas, NV October 05, 2020
The Division
of Industrial Relations (DIR) continues to focus its efforts on compliance with
workplace safety and health measures that must be enacted by businesses across
the state to mitigate the public health concerns presented by the ongoing
coronavirus pandemic.
During the
third quarter, DIR administration implemented a compliance observation process
to monitor compliance with applicable guidance and directives. Observations
have been conducted at bars and restaurants, gaming properties, large and small
retail establishments including grocery stores, home improvement stores,
clothing stores, gyms, hair and nail salons, and other locations where large
groups of people may congregate for longer periods of time, which can lead to a
heightened risk of spreading the virus.
If
non-compliance is found during an initial observation, the business is provided
a written notice and request for voluntary compliance. A follow up visit by
Nevada OSHA officials will be conducted. If the employer is still not complaint,
a formal inspection is opened. If the observed violations are substantiated, a
notice of citation and penalty will be issued. The maximum penalty of $134,940
can be assessed to an employer that willfully violates the provisions of the effective
directives and guidance. If the employer is in compliance
during the follow up visit, the inspection is closed with no further action taken.
The
observation process supplemented investigative work already being done by
Nevada OSHA in response to the thousands of complaints filed by employees and
referrals filed by members of public since the initial shut down occurred in
early March. The majority of complaints are resolved through an employer
inquiry and response process. In instances where the inquiry process does not
provide a satisfactory response or resolution of the complaint, an
investigation is opened.
In-field
inspections are also being conducted by OSHA officials when violations of
standard or regulation are alleged in addition to reported coronavirus health
and safety concerns. A notice of
citation and penalty is issued to the business if a violation is found as a
result of the investigation. The maximum penalty of $134,940 can be assessed to
an employer that willfully violates the provisions of the effective directives
and guidance.
Observation
compliance and citations
During initial
observations conducted September 28 through October 2, Division of Industrial
Relations (DIR) officials found that 92 percent of the 405 businesses visited were
compliant with required health and safety measures to slow community spread of
COVID-19.
Industry
compliance for business types with 20 or more observations were as follows:
- Bars,
116 observations- 91 percent
- Restaurants,
117 observations- 92 percent
- General
Retail, 51 observations- 92 percent
- Hair/
Nail/ Tattoo Salons, 27 observations- 93 percent
- Other,
43 observations- 95 percent
Cities with
compliance rates below the 92 percent statewide average for the same period
include Sparks, 83 percent and Carson City at 89 percent.
A total of 8,912
initial visits have been conducted since the Governor’s Declaration of
Emergency Directive 24 went into effect with an overall compliance rate of 89
percent. In northern Nevada, 4,497 businesses have been observed with a 90
percent rate of compliance, while 4,415 initial observations in southern Nevada
found 87 percent compliance.
Officials also
conducted 65 follow up visits, 48 of those were conducted in northern Nevada
and found a 94 percent compliance rate. In southern Nevada, 17 follow up visits
were conducted with a 100 percent compliance rate.
A total of 1,633
follow up visits have been conducted statewide, resulting in a cumulative
compliance rate of 95 percent, with 97 percent overall compliance in northern
Nevada and 93 percent in the south.
Once citation
was issued last week as a result of observation process:
Welding Nevada
1518 Scotland Lane, Las
Vegas, NV 89102
Penalty: $4,048
Violation
Summary: Failure to comply with face covering requirement for employees and/or
patrons.
Since the
beginning of Q3 2020, 34 citations have been issued under the Division’s observation
process.1
Complaint/referral
statistics and citations
Nevada OSHA
has received a total of 3,894 complaints and referrals related to coronavirus
health and safety concerns. The top five complaint categories by industry
include:
- General
retail- 1071 complaints, 27 percent
- Restaurants
and bars- 655 complaints 17 percent
- Medical-
291 complaints, 7 percent
- Gaming-
241 complaints, 6 percent
- Grocery
stores- 215, 6 percent
The top five
zip codes for complaints include:
- 89502
(Reno), 199 complaints
- 89109
(Las Vegas), 184 complaints
- 89119
(Las Vegas), 136 complaints
- 89434
(Sparks), 128 complaints
- 89431
(Sparks), 125 complaints
During the week
beginning September 28, the following citations were issued as a result of closed
complaint and referral investigations where violations of applicable guidance,
directives and regulation were found:
Nevada Wine Cellars,
Inc. dba Pahrump Valley Winery
3810 Winery Road,
Pahrump, NV 89048
Inspection 1494458
Penalty $8,501
Violation summary: The
business hosted an event at which their employees worked and at which the
50-person limit of attendees was exceeded, social distancing among attendees
was not maintained and face coverings were not being worn by all attendees.
LMG, LLC
7060 Windy Street, Las
Vegas, NV 89119
Inspection 1494484
Penalty $6,073
Violation summary: Employees
worked at an event at which the 50-person limit of attendees was exceeded,
social distancing among attendees was not maintained and face coverings were
not being worn by all attendees.
Hel LLC dba Sea Salt
9635 Bermuda Road, Suite
150, Las Vegas, NV 89123
Inspection 1490331
Penalty $4,858
Violation summary:
Employee and customer face covering deficiencies, lack of hazard communication
program (chemical safety), lack of hazard communication training.
Nevada OSHA published the
first coronavirus-related guidance for employers operating under the essential
phase in mid-March and has published subsequent revisions and new guidance as a
result of the State’s phased reopening plan announcements. In addition to
Nevada OSHA’s published guidance for employers to operate safety, the State has
issued a number of directives for business under the Governor’s Declaration of
Emergency.
Since
mid-March, Nevada OSHA has issued 135 citations to businesses in violation of
the effective guidance, directives and/or regulations. This is in addition to
the citations issued as a result of the observation process.
About the Division of Industrial Relations:
The Nevada Division of Industrial Relations (DIR) is the
principal regulatory agency responsible for workplace safety and worker
protections in the state of Nevada. Comprised of five sections
–Occupational Safety and Health Administration, Workers’ Compensation Section,
Mechanical Compliance Section, Mine Safety and Training Section, and the Safety
Consultation and Training Section – DIR works to protect Nevada’s working men
and women and provides a broad scope of training and support to the regulated
community. For more information please visit http://dir.nv.gov.
About Nevada OSHA:
Nevada OSHA operates as an approved state program as
defined by section 18 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 and is
required by the Act to operate in a manner that is at least as effective as the
federal OSHA enforcement program. Operating out of district offices in
Las Vegas and Reno, Nevada OSHA conducts inspections and investigations
intended to identify hazardous conditions which could harm Nevada’s workers and
enforces state and federal laws protecting the state’s workers. From July 2018
to June 2019, Nevada OSHA conducted over 1,060 inspections, issuing an average
of 1.4 serious violations per inspection. The Nevada State Plan, at the time of
publication of this media release, is funded by a grant of $1,486,600 federal
funds, which constitutes 50 percent of the State Plan budget. Fifty percent, or
$1,486,600 of the State Plan budget, is financed through non-governmental
sources. For more information visit http://dir.nv.gov/OSHA/home.
Workplace safety concerns can be filed online with Nevada
OSHA at https://www.osha.gov/pls/osha7/eComplaintForm.html.
###
[1]
Note that five citations listed in prior press releases and included in the
citation tally are now being accounted for under the complaint and referral
citation totals.