Las Vegas, NV July 06, 2020
In an effort
to protect Nevada’s workers and educate businesses on the latest requirements
so that Nevada can stay safe and stay open during the pandemic, the Division of
Industrial Relations (DIR) Occupation Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is
conducting ongoing field observations and inspections at establishments where
patrons congregate for longer periods of time, which can lead to a heightened
risk of spreading COVID-19.
Since the Governor’s
Declaration of Emergency Directive 024 went into effect on June 26,
approximately 84 percent of businesses in northern Nevada and 66 percent of
businesses in southern Nevada were in compliance on the date of the initial
observation. The Division has conducted 921
initial field observations at large and small establishments including grocery,
home improvement and clothing stores, hair and nail salons, tattoo parlors,
bars and restaurant lounges, casino hotel gaming floors and pools.
On July 3, officials
visited casino hotel pools, a water park, bars, and gaming floors and found a
statewide compliance rate of 76 percent; 82 percent in northern Nevada and 75
percent in the south. The surveys concluded:
- Water
park- not in compliance
- Casino
hotel pools- 40 percent compliance
- Bars1- 80 percent compliance
- Casino
hotel gaming floors- 80 percent compliance
If
noncompliance is found during an initial observation, the business is provided
a written notice and request for voluntary compliance and a follow up visit by
Nevada OSHA officials will be conducted. If a violation is found during the
follow up visit, 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.
In
addition, a notice will be provided to the business indicating that in the
event of future noncompliance, the
Administrator may issue an Order requiring the business to cease all
activity at the business location during this state of emergency under NRS 618.545(1)
until the business has established and implemented operating procedures to
comply with the requirements.
Nevada OSHA
has received over 1,000 COVID-19 safety-related complaints since
mid-March. Since the face covering
mandate went into effect, complaint volume received by the established hotlines
has increased significantly. Additional staff has been assigned to help assist
with these call volumes. The agency is collaborating with local jurisdictions
and other regulatory agencies through information sharing and response
coordinate to address the most critical and pressing complaints.
Due to high
call volumes, employees are encouraged to file complaints online at https://www.osha.gov/pls/osha7/eComplaintForm.html.
1 Visits to bars and restaurant lounge establishments on July
2 with an observed compliance rate of 50 percent occurred in the evening hours.
Bar visits during July 3 occurred during daytime business hours.
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.
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