Nevada OSHA issues citations to two Las Vegas businesses for violations of COVID-19 health and safety requirements

Today, the Division of Industrial Relations has announced that violation of required workplace health and safety measures has resulted in Nevada OSHA issuing notices of citation and penalty to the following businesses: 

The citations were issued after officials observed noncompliance with one or more requirements of general and industry-specific guidance and directives during both an initial observation and a follow up visit by division officials. The employers were provided a notice and a request for compliance during the first visit. Upon observation of ongoing noncompliance during a follow up visit, a formal investigation was opened with the employer.

In addition, a notice was provided indicating that in the event of future noncompliance, the Administrator may issue an order requiring the business to cease all activity at that 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.

Follow up visits have been conducted at 310 businesses where Nevada OSHA officials found that 93 percent of those locations are now in compliance. Eleven businesses have been issued citations. Follow up visits this week will focus on pools, casinos, strip malls and large shopping malls, pharmacies and other establishments that have been the subject of multiple complaints filed by employees.   

Since initial observations to determine compliance with mandated health and safety measures began, Division of Industrial Relations officials have visited 3,508 business establishments in northern and southern Nevada. The compliance rate for all business sectors statewide at time of initial observation has increased to 87 percent, with an 88 percent compliance rate in northern Nevada, and 85 percent in the south.

Division officials are also monitoring trends to determine the effectiveness of educational outreach and request for voluntary compliance with health and safety measures during the initial observation and are noting the following findings¹

• Casino-hotel pools: 55 percent initial compliance, 83 percent follow up compliance
• Water parks: 50 percent initial compliance, 100 percent follow up compliance
• Grocery Stores: 82 percent initial compliance, 91 percent follow up compliance
• Gyms: 88 initial compliance, 85 percent follow up compliance

Information about general and industry-specific guidance can be found on the Nevada Health Response website, https://NVHealthResponse.nv.gov/ and the Division of Industrial Relations website, http://dir.nv.gov/.

The Division’s Safety Consultation and Training Section (SCATS) also offers free consultations to businesses to help them understand and implement the requirements in order to comply with the health and safety guidance and directives for all businesses, and specific requirements for each industry. SCATS can be reached by calling 1-877-4SAFENV.

Workplace health and safety complaints can be reported to the Division by filing an online complaint at https://www.osha.gov/pls/osha7/eComplaintForm.html.

¹Not all businesses with noncompliance noted at time of the follow up are issued citations. A change in the standards of published guidance and/or directives may necessitate additional observations in order to validate noncompliance with the new standard. Additionally, after opening a formal investigation process during the follow up visit, the observed violations or conditions may be found to be invalid, resulting in no citation being issued.

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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