OSHA Targets Small Business Owners In Nevada

Brian Retke of Window Masters; "Had I capitulated to OSHA's demands, they would have put me out of business."

OSHA safety police do fine work (John L. Smith): I'm not sure this is what the federal experts had in mind. After being blasted in 2009 by its federal counterpart for doing too little to scrutinize workplace safety even after multiple on-the-job fatalities, the Nevada Occupational Safety and Health Administration has gotten tough. Really tough. On a zookeeper. On a window washer. On a manufacturer of ice cream, and a maker of dentures.

Those small Nevada operators have found themselves fighting state OSHA after being whacked with thousands of dollars in fines over alleged safety violations that were either easily correctable or arguably inappropriate. It appears to be part of a policy that is bent at least as much on generating income as promoting safety. In recent weeks I've interviewed several longtime small-business owners who have dealt with OSHA over the years. Each stressed a willingness to maintain a safe work environment. But they also say they have noticed a change in OSHA's mission from workplace safety to fine generation, often for such egregious violations as cracked wall plug covers and improperly displayed safety manuals.

Is it a way to make budget, or perhaps an overreaction to its own under performance in addressing far larger safety issues involving, for instance, the "clearly supportable repeat violations" related to the worker deaths at local hotel-casinos? The federal analysis found state OSHA inspectors had an exceedingly light touch when it came to large offenses involving workplace fatalities at big businesses. The safety police couldn't find it in their hearts to pull the trigger and level hefty fines and penalties even in cases in which fatalities had occurred at Strip casino resorts. The lack of fines of more than $45,000 was noted by federal OSHA investigators, who had to narrow their field of inquiry to fines of $15,000 because the state had been so conservative in its charges.

Then there's Brian Retke, who owns the Window Masters commercial window cleaning service. His citations totaled $2,800 over how his high-rise rigs were securing their lines. He thought his troubles were over when he won his appeal in front of an OSHA review board, but then the safety police appealed to District Court. Retke still is fighting more than a year later. "I'm a small-business owner, so I have to do all this myself," Retke says. "I had to put in a huge expense just to fight at the review board. ... I believe that, somewhere along the line, the correct mark was missed by OSHA. Had I capitulated to their demands, they would have put me out of business. What is my recourse? I have to dig deeper into my pockets. I have to wash a lot of windows to pay for this. This is my livelihood. This is how I support my family."

Back in 2009, the federal review called state OSHA's inspectors an overworked bunch, but officials also noted the inspectors were too easy on egregious repeat offenders. And nowhere in that report did federal authorities say state OSHA needed to start terrorizing mom-and-pop operations. Nevada's small-business owners are having enough trouble surviving in this economy. It's time for Nevada's safety police to pick on someone their own size. Full story here.