State fines Everett; workers appeal demotions

By Theresa Goffredo

Herald Writer

EVERETT — The state Department of Labor and Industries has fined the city $5,500 after two Everett public works employees allegedly installed a water line in a trench that wasn’t protected from a cave-in.

On Tuesday, city officials were still deciding whether to appeal. The city has until Nov. 30 to file.

Meanwhile, the two public works employees have filed separate grievances with their union in an attempt to get their job titles back. Following the incident, the two men, both crew leaders, were demoted and suspended for two weeks without pay.

The men, Brock Bradley and Gary Allen, said the incident was blown out of proportion, and if it had been a serious violation the work site would have been shut down.

The men admit they were out of compliance and say they deserve to be docked a week’s worth of pay, but they want their crew leader positions back.

"When you enter thousands of excavations a year, you know one isn’t going to be perfect, and we fixed it," said Bradley, who lost about 30 percent of his pay with the demotion, or about $6 an hour.

Said Allen: "Our grievances will go to arbitration."

City attorney Mark Soine said the city takes these types of violations very seriously.

"And discipline is metered out for these sorts of things," Soine said.

The incident occurred Sept. 21 at First Drive SE and 112th Street SE, where a new 4-inch water line was being installed in an excavated trench more than 4 feet deep, according to a memorandum acquired by The Herald in a public records request.

There was standing water in the bottom of the trench, and dirt that had been dug out of the hole was stacked at the edge of the trench closer than the required 2-foot setback. A trench box, a steel-plate box that prevents the sides of a trench from caving in, was on site but was not used, acting public works director Tom Thetford wrote in the memorandum.

There was an attempt to step the edge of the trench, but not at the correct ratio, and Bradley was the only one exposed to potential danger, Thetford wrote. Allen was the senior water service technician on site, but he could not answer questions adequately, Thetford wrote.

The citation was filed through Labor and Industry’s Washington Industrial Safety and Health Act Services Division, which gives the department a primary responsibility for worker health and safety in Washington.

The department has three levels of citations. The first is a general violation where the employer is required to fix it but no penalty is assessed. The second is a serious violation that is described as likely to result in injury and death, and a penalty is assessed. Finally, there is a willful violation in which a penalty is assessed with a multiplier of 10 so that a $7,000 fine becomes $70,000.

In this case, the city was cited Nov. 9 for a serious violation, agency spokesman Bill Ripple said.

You can call Herald Writer Theresa Goffredo at 425-339-3097

or send e-mail to goffredo@heraldnet.com.

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