OSHA Opening Federal Office in Las Vegas

This past October, federal regulators were critical of Nevada's OSHA, saying the state agency was ineffective. They discovered significant problems in the operation of Nevada's state OSHA program. "The probe examined Nevada OSHA’s oversight of 25 workplace fatalities, some of which occurred during the Las Vegas Strip construction boom and found an agency with staff ill-equipped to investigate accidents and administrators unwilling to impose hefty penalties on companies (Las Vegas Sun)."

OSHA has now announced that they will be opening a federal OSHA office in Las Vegas to provide oversight of worker safety regulators.

Dr. David Michael, assistant secretary for the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration, issued the following statement:

"Workers deserve to be kept safe on the job. When we found serious deficiencies in the way the state of Nevada was operating its safety and health program, it was necessary to take action. I am pleased to announce that the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration will be opening an office in Las Vegas.

"The new office will provide a federal presence and oversight in Nevada to improve coordination and share resources, make direct oversight easier and more effective, and provide technical assistance to the state as needed to ultimately ensure workers are better protected."

Nevada's Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said: “An office in Las Vegas has been long awaited—a wait that was too long for the twelve construction workers who lost their lives as a result of poor safety regulations. OSHA’s presence in Nevada will allow its members to work more closely with Nevada’s leading workforces, monitoring progress and ensuring only the highest safety and health standards are in practice. With OSHA’s help, our state’s workplaces will adopt safer work practices, resulting in fewer accidents and less spending for accident and injury cases, making funds available to get Nevadans back on the job.”

Nevada Rep. Dina Titus said: “Unfortunately under current law, federal OSHA is left with only two options, both at the extreme end of the spectrum, when it finds state plans that are ineffective. This legislation provides OSHA with an important middle ground so it is not left with the choice of doing nothing or taking the drastic step of terminating a state plan.”

Sources:
osha.gov
Sun Staff. "Fed OSHA to Open Las Vegas Office for Worker Safety Oversight." Las Vegas Sun. 4 May 2010. Web. 6 May 2010.