The town has been hit with a $9,000 fine for safety violations at the Ridgefield Golf Course, following a serious hand injury to an employee on June 10.
“The employer was aware that safety devices on equipment (Jacobson reel mowers) being routinely operated by both full-time and seasonal staff had been disconnected and were found to be inoperative,” reads the citation from the Connecticut Department of Labor’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health.
The violation was categorized as “willful” in the seven-page citation document signed by department director Kenneth C. Tucker III.
The town was found in violation of a section of the Connecticut Occupational Safety and Health Act:
“The employer did not furnish employment and a place of employment which were free from recognized hazards that were causing or likely to cause death or serious physical harm in that employees were exposed to hazards due to disconnected safety devices on reel mowers,” says the citation from the state.
The notification the town received from the labor department last week explains procedures to officially contest the fine, and also to discuss it with the department more informally.
“You can appeal it,” First Selectman Rudy Marconi said Tuesday. “But the town has no intention to appeal.”
Mr. Marconi does expect to discuss the situation with Board of Selectmen — it won’t be the first time. And there will be a process to go through for the $9,000 appropriation.
“We need approval for use of contingency funds to pay the fine,” Mr. Marconi said.
The citation from the state agency — widely referred to as “CONN-OSHA” — was dated July 29, and the town has 15 working days to pay.
The town also has to fix the equipment and confirm “abatement” of the problem for the state.
“Human Resources Director Laurie Scholl will be at the golf course to verify that the safety equipment has all been corrected,” Mr. Marconi said.
Mr. Marconi said that Ms. Scholl had reported that the employee who had been injured — needing numerous stitches on his hand, but not losing any fingers — was continuing to recover.
“Laurie said he’s in rehab and is making progress, fortunately,” Mr. Marconi said Tuesday.
He described the way the golf course lawn mowers had been altered.
“If you’re sitting on a riding lawnmower and your blades are turning, if you stop and try and get off the lawnmower, when you remove yourself from the seat there’s a pressure switch on the seat that will automatically shut down the machine if you have not disengaged the blades,” he said.
Wires to that switch were cut.
“Under the seat — snip,” Mr. Marconi said.
When he last discussed the situation with the Board of Selectmen, Mr. Marconi gave a frank summary of CONN-OSHA investigator Scott Adams’ assessment.
“He did his interviews. To be very honest, his report to me was: ‘I think someone is lying to me. I think some people were very very honest.’ ”
In the board’s July 23 discussion, Mr. Marconi was also blunt about employees’ inconsistent attitudes toward safety regulations and practices.
“We have a safety committee. All department heads are supposed to attend — they don’t,” he told the selectmen.
In an interview Tuesday, Mr. Marconi elaborated on that assessment of the safety committee meetings.
“It’s well attended — it’s not that there’s no one there,” he said. “But there are a couple that have a tendency not to attend. They have other priorities. It’s not because they’re sitting at home. It’s the middle of the busy season right now.”
He added, “The safety committee is made up of not necessarily department heads, but representatives of different areas, mainly the buildings. Those individuals will be the people responsible for reviewing their respective areas for OSHA compliance.”
He expects things to improve.
“We had a staff meeting subsequent to all this. And all the departments were informed by Jerry Gay, our safety director, that they must not take our monthly safety meetings lightly,” Mr. Marconi said. “We will be following attendance closely, and reviewing every department’s OHSA compliance.”
Going forward, safety will be more of a focus for employees in all town departments, Mr. Marconi said, as will OSHA compliance.
“There are many many different types of OSHA violations,” he said. “They’re not restricted to just construction-related activities. There are office violations, as well, such as extension cords being used as a main source of electricity, etc.”
The disabling of the safety devices on the mowers was well known by the golf course workers using the equipment.
“In a way, what we have found out is that all employees were aware of it, but no one ever said anything,” Mr. Marconi said.
Are there plans to discipline any employees for the violation that led to the fine?
“Not at the current time,” Mr. Marconi said Tuesday. “OSHA has found that this was not of ‘malicious intent.’ As a result the police have suspended their investigation.
“And, of course, we will continue to strive to find the individual responsible and their reasoning behind their actions.”