Nevada OSHA Investigating Complaint against State Legislator #OHS #Politics #News

Nevada workplace safety officials are investigating a complaint alleging that Assemblyman Steven Brooks, recently arrested for allegedly threatening Assembly Speaker Marilyn Kirkpatrick, is “an unstable and dangerous employee” at the state Legislature.

Chris Davis of the Nevada Occupational Safety and Health Administration, which has the authority to investigate workplace-safety complaints and take action against employers, notified Legislative Counsel Bureau Director Rick Combs of the complaint in a Feb. 4 letter asking for a report on how LCB is handling the situation involving Brooks, D-North Las Vegas.

Combs responded to the letter on Monday, saying the LCB and Legislative Police have taken a variety of actions to ensure employees and others in the building are safe.

The request for an investigation of safety hazards at the Legislature states, “There is an unstable and dangerous employee that has been allowed to remain at his building despite many of our colleagues' concerns regarding his frightening behavior, history of violence, known threats against other employees, arrests, psychiatric commitments and multiple recent instances of brandishing deadly weapons.”

The unidentified employee who filed the complaint said that the issues haven't been resolved, “even though many of us have continued to express that we do not feel safe coming to work.”

The complaint was filed under NRS618, which says every Nevada employer “has a duty to provide a workplace free of recognized hazards.”

The response by Combs came just hours before Assembly Majority Leader William Horne announced that Brooks had been banned from the building pending resolution of the situation — a move that helps resolve the complaint. Combs said officers met Brooks at the Reno-Tahoe Airport on Monday night when he arrived from Las Vegas and served him with notice he was no longer allowed in the Legislative Building.

In his response to OSHA, Combs said the case isn't like most other complaints about an employee being a danger to co-workers.

“It is important to recognize that Assemblyman Brooks is an elected official and not an employee of the LCB or of the Nevada Assembly,” he wrote. “Therefore, he cannot be fired, suspended or otherwise disciplined in the same manner as an employee.”

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http://www.nevadaappeal.com/article/20130213/NEWS/130219958/1006&parentprofile=1058