Las Vegas, NV July 01, 2020
Today, the Division
of Industrial Relations’ Nevada Occupational Safety and Health Administration
(OSHA) announced increased inspection activity across the State in order to
help educate businesses on the latest requirements so Nevada can stay safe and
stay open.
According to
Victoria Carreon, Division of Industrial Relations Interim Administrator, “Ensuring
compliance with the Governor’s directives and guidance issued by Nevada OSHA is
a vital component of ensuring the health and safety of Nevada’s workers and
helping businesses stay open. The Division of Industrial Relations is taking a
proactive and cooperative approach by canvasing businesses to make them aware
of the requirements before taking enforcement action.”
On June 24,
2020, Gov. Steve Sisolak issued Declaration of Emergency Directive 024 which
requires business establishments in the State of Nevada to implement and
enforce mandates for employees and patrons to wear face coverings to reduce the
spread of COVID-19 in the community. Businesses are required to notify the
public of the face covering requirement prior to patrons entering their
facilities.
Since the
Directive went into effect on June 26, the Division of Industrial Relations has
conducted 259 initial field observations across the state to survey compliance
in industries and sectors from which high volumes of complaints have been
received. During these initial surveys, 85.3
percent of businesses were found to be in compliance with the face covering
directive.
Initial
observations have been conducted at 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 be
congregating for longer periods of time, which can lead to a heightened risk of
spreading COVID-19. Gaming
establishments will also be surveyed as part of the ongoing effort.
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
and a violation is found, 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 directive. If the
employer is observed to be in compliance during the follow up visit, the
inspection will be closed with no further action necessary.
Additionally,
Nevada OSHA continues to conduct ongoing compliance enforcement activity in
response to complaints and referrals received by their offices related to Updated
Nevada OSHA Guidance for Businesses Operating in Phase 2 of Nevada United:
Roadmap to Recovery Plan published on June 26. A copy of the guidance can
be found on the Division of Industrial Relations website at http://dir.nv.gov/uploadedFiles/dirnvgov/content/home/features/OSHA%20Ltr%20Phase%20II%20Face%20Coverings%206-26-20A.pdf.
Complaints can be
filed with Nevada OSHA by calling (702)
486-9020 in southern Nevada and (775) 688-3700 in northern Nevada. Complaints can also be filed online at https://www.osha.gov/pls/osha7/eComplaintForm.html.
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About the Division of Industrial Relations:
The Nevada Division of Industrial Relations (DIR), a division of
the Department of Business and Industry, 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.