Modesto settles Cal/OSHA citations against it in electrocution of city worker
Modesto has settled its appeal of the four citations a state agency issued against it in the 2018 electrocution of a city worker who was part of a crew installing a streetlight pole that made contact with high-voltage power lines.
The Division of Occupational Safety and Health, better known as Cal/OSHA, investigated and fined Modesto $39,750 in the April 9, 2018, death of 30-year-old electrician assistant Tyrone Darnell Hairston.
The city appealed, and an administrative law judge reduced the penalty to $23,550 in August 2021. Modesto paid the penalty the same month. The city also spent $18,500 in legal costs in pursuing its appeal, according to a city spokeswoman.
The Bee inquired about the status of the appeal after Public Works Director Bill Sandhu claimed last month that a former city employee who had been part of the crew installing the streetlight pole threatened to kill him as Sandhu walked downtown May 24. Sandhu claimed the employee followed him in his pickup truck and blocked his path.
The city sought and was issued in Stanislaus County Superior Court a temporary workplace violence restraining order against the former employee, which states he needs to stay at least 100 yards from Sandhu and not contact him.
Hairston and two city electricians were installing a streetlight pole at Roselle and Floyd avenues on April 9, 2018.
One of the electricians used a truck with a boom to lift the pole into place. Hairston was holding the pole so he could bolt the base in place. But as the workers rotated the pole to get it into position, the pole’s arm made contact with the power lines.
Based on its investigation, Cal/OSHA determined Modesto violated these regulations:
▪ It did not notify the Modesto Irrigation District of its plans to install a streetlight pole near MID power lines. The power lines did not need to be turned off, only that the city notify MID. This is a general violation with a $375 penalty.
▪ It “did not have warning signs as required for operators of cranes or similar apparatus” when “installing a light pole within 10 feet of high-voltage lines.” This is a serious violation with a $3,375 penalty.
▪ City employees “were permitted to install a light pole in proximity to energized high-voltage lines without the danger from accidental contact with said high-voltage lines being effectively guarded against, (and) as a result, a fatal injury occurred.” This is a serious-accident related violation with an $18,000 penalty.
▪ The city employees did not keep their equipment and the light pole the required minimum of 6 feet from 12,000-volt power lines and “as a result, a fatal injury occurred.” This is a serious-accident related violation with an $18,000 penalty.
The administrative law judge reduced the penalty regarding the minimum distance between the crew’s equipment and the power lines to $1,800. That brought the city’s total penalty to $23,550.
Modesto conducted its own investigations, and Hairston’s two co-workers and their supervisor left the city. The city has said one co-worker and the supervisor retired, and it terminated the employment of the other co-worker.
Allen Garan is the employee the city has said retired, but Sandhu wrote in a declaration he filed in support of the temporary restraining order that Garan’s employment had been terminated. Garan is the former employee Sandhu claimed threatened him.
The city has a Tuesday hearing in Superior Court in which it will seek a workplace restraining order that could be in place for as long as three years. Garan can oppose the city’s request. He declined to comment in a previous story.
Modesto’s appeal of the Cal/OSHA citations had been on hold as Cal/OSHA’s Bureau of Investigations conducted its own investigation. The bureau turns over its investigations to local prosecutors if it determines there was criminal wrongdoing on behalf of the employer.
The bureau’s 2020 annual report states it referred its investigation to prosecutors in September 2020 and that as of the annual report, there had been “no final prosecution decision.”
Modesto provided The Bee with a May 2021 letter from the bureau that states “... the BOI investigation has been completed and the criminal aspect of the case is closed. The matter is now appropriate for resolution of the civil citations.”
Stanislaus County District Attorney’s Office spokesman John Goold said his office has not been able find a record of receiving a report from the Bureau of Investigations.
The Modesto Bee continues to report on the BOI investigation.
This story was originally published June 17, 2022 at 5:00 AM.
