Las Vegas NowLawmakers urged to increase workplace safety training in Nevada
Associated Press - March 11, 2009 10:25 PM ET
CARSON CITY, Nev. (AP) - Mothers of 2 men killed in workplace accidents urged Nevada legislators on Wednesday to mandate improved on-the-job safety training and to make sure that there's proper oversight by government agencies.
Tracy Carrillo of Fernley told the Senate Commerce and Labor Committee that more training is needed. Debra Koehler-Fergen of Las Vegas added that federal authorities should have more authority over Nevada's Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
Carrillo, whose son Brian Sparkman, an iron worker, died in a Reno hospital after falling off a 42-foot-high building in 2007, said she wasn't "placing blame or pointing fingers" but added, "I just don't feel there's appropriate training on safety."
Koehler-Fergen's son, Travis Koehler, and another maintenance worker died in 2007 after being overcome by toxic fumes while working at the Orleans hotel-casino in Las Vegas. Koehler-Fergen, who sued Orleans owner Boyd Gaming, said a "cover-up" in the Orleans case shows why there should be more federal oversight.
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