Due to recent activity in Nevada, the OSHA board led by Senator Maggie Carlton is working to improve the safety in many companies. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) governs the safety not only in casinos but in many companies around the Unites States.
The Las Vegas Strip has fell victim to numerous fatalities in the past year, largely due to construction. Currently the governing body is with the Business and Industry Department, but a new bill would transfer responsibility to OSHA.
“We were trying to get OSHA out from underneath all this political pressure,” said Carlton. “We know the system now isn’t working.”
If the new law passes, OSHA will be held accountable to contact the family members of the victim in order to shed more light on the subject. The family members will then be able to see the agency investigation on the subject.
“The more sunshine on the process, the better family members will be able to hold these folks accountable,” Carlton said. “If the family feels something terrible happened in the investigation, they can turn around and call the media. This holds OSHA’s feet to the fire.”
This comes at a crucial time when casino resorts are putting up larger structures and constantly building. With CityCenter on the rise, this may be the perfect time to get ahead on this law.
“I have to be practical,” Carlton said. “If I put too much in there nothing will pass. I sat down and thought about it long and hard. What is the best thing I can do for these families and get the division comfortable enough so they will not oppose it. This is one small step.”
“If there’s nothing I can do to voice my opinion, then what’s the point of being offered information,” said Debi Fergen, the mother of one of two workers who died in a high-profile accident at the Orleans in 2007. “What they’re proposing to me does not fix a broken system.”
Fergen is still dealing with a case against Boyd gaming and casino concerning the death of two family members Travis Koehler, her son, and a coworker Richard Luzier.
