Modesto’s own assessment after employee’s death finds shortfalls in city safety efforts

After a city worker was killed on the job last year, Modesto looked at how well it was following its workplace safety program. A review found many shortcomings and that worker safety needs to be a higher priority for top management.

The review found Modesto was not in substantial compliance with most Cal/OSHA requirements for employee safety training and written safety programs, wide disparities in safety training among city departments, and that few employees knew about the Injury and Illness Prevention Program, a Cal/OSHA required document that serves as the foundation for the city’s safety program.

The review stated Modesto already had a road map for much of what it needed to do — a safety compliance assessment done in 2012 by the consultant Du-All Safety. “The majority of that document is still relevant as few of the corrective actions were ever implemented.”

The review states: “Ultimately, the City will have to work on shifting its culture toward prioritizing Safety. This push needs to come from the very top of management to prevent this effort from losing momentum. ... Without this support from upper management, the safety program will not receive the personnel, funding, and attention required to implement (the Injury and Illness Prevention Program) and achieve compliance.”

The review — called the Safety Compliance Assessment June 2018 — was conducted by the city’s interim safety officer and interim safety coordinator for the city’s interim safety task force. A copy was provided to The Bee by an anonymous source. The review is in draft form. City Manager Joe Lopez said he believes the review has not yet been finalized.

But Lopez added that some of the review’s recommendations were quickly implemented, including hiring a safety officer, who has direct oversight over all city safety efforts. Lopez said the city has taken many other measures to improve safety.

Lopez said safety always has been a top priority for the city, which is why it hired Du-All to perform its 2012 assessment. But he agreed with the review that the city’s safety efforts became fragmented, which he attributed to a lack of resources and employee turnover. He also agreed safety “should be prioritized at the top of the organization and it will be.”

Lopez had direct responsibility for Modesto’s safety programs during much of his time with the city. He came here in 2012 as human resources director. He then held two positions with direct oversight over human resources before beginning to serve as city manager two years ago.

“We all bear some level of responsibility for safety and training,” he said in an email, “but for me specifically, following the (2012) safety assessment, a myriad of improvements were made to our safety program.”

Modesto conducted the most recent safety compliance assessment after the April 9, 2018, electrocution of electrician assistant Tyrone Darnell Hairston. He was part of a three-man crew that was installing a streetlight pole that made contact with a high-voltage power line.

After completing two investigations, the city last month placed the co-workers and the crew’s supervisor on paid leave, pending discipline. The three employees have requested hearings to challenge the city’s allegations and proposed discipline against them. The city’s investigation found severe deficiencies in training, safety measures and other critical areas.

One investigation stated that, based on witness statements, the consensus was that Public Works’ traffic electrical division employees were not familiar with the Injury and Illness Prevention Program, including its requirements to fill out job safety analysis forms or hold “tailgate meetings” to talk about the hazards of a particular job before starting it.

Modesto released the investigations early last month, the same day it placed the employees on leave. No other supervisors or managers have been placed on leave. Since then, the city has said it has started another investigation and “additional corrective actions may be warranted.”

Lopez said in a Friday interview that based on the two investigations and what he has learned since the release of the investigations, the city is conducting an administrative review of Public Works and its traffic electrical division.

The City Council adopted its most current Injury and Illness Prevention Program in 2013 and the document states it is the city’s responsibility to “(p)rovide training to employees as required by this program and other related safety programs to prevent injury and illness” and to “(e)nforce the provisions of this program and other related safety programs to prevent injury and illness.”

None of this is a surprise to Hairston’s father, Tyrone Alfonso Hairston, who has been diligent in seeking answers in his son’s death. His son had been working as an electrician assistant for just several months before being killed.

“It sounds like the intentions were good,” he said about Modesto’s safety program. “It all sounds like good stuff, except for the fact that the Injury and Illness Prevention Program and the Electrical Safety Program (a related city document) were not required reading for their employees.

“... My son, that should have been the first thing he did (read those two documents). That would have empowered him to maybe speak out. He would have known the safety standards. Without that knowledge, he was trusting the direction of those two guys (the co-workers).”

Hairston said he believes the three employees have responsibility in his son’s death, but said responsibility also lies with those higher up in the city. “A safety program with no follow through is useless,” he said. “... My son’s death all of sudden brought the focus back on safety.”

The state Division of Occupational Safety and Health, better known as Cal/OSHA, issued four citations and a $39,750 penalty in August against Modesto for safety violations in Hairston’s death. Modesto is appealing, but that is on hold while Cal/OSHA’s Bureau of Investigations conducts its own investigation.

Bureau investigations can result in a referral to prosecutors for criminal charges against the employer, which in this case would be Modesto, based on an investigation’s findings. The investigation of Hairston’s death has not concluded, according to Frank Polizzi, a spokesman for the state Department of Industrial Relations. Cal/OSHA is a part of the DIR.

This story was originally published May 3, 2019 at 5:06 PM.