Aug. 16 – The North Central Solid Waste Authority is appealing a $43,532 fine the agency is seeking for failing to address unsafe conditions discovered after a worker died at a job in Dixon in November 2022.
The state’s Occupational Health and Safety Bureau fined the county waste agency about $18,000 in May 2023 after an inspection following the death of 47-year-old Alfredo Trujillo found the company failed to provide a safe work environment and failed to notice or repair a broken rear step that was sometimes used by truck loaders.
Trujillo died on the job after falling from the back of his truck onto the road and being run over by another vehicle, possibly the garbage truck he was working on, according to sources at the time.
The Rio Arriba County Sheriff’s Office did not respond to a call seeking information about the status of the agency’s investigation into Trujillo’s death.
The waste authority paid the first fine but failed to develop a remediation plan that required developing standard operating procedures for employees working behind the trucks, Kristy Peck, health code compliance supervisor for the New Mexico Department of Environment, said in an interview.
During a follow-up visit in January, state inspectors also discovered that another truck still had a damaged rear platform. Although the agency had developed a protocol for the rear loaders, it was not enforced, Peck said.
As a result, the workplace safety agency in July issued citations for two more “serious” repeat violations, with associated fines of $21,760 each, and for a violation related to an outdated fire extinguisher inspection, for which no fine was imposed.
The July 5 notice gave the waste authority 15 days to appeal the fines, which it did by certified mail on July 25, according to documents provided by George Estrada, spokesman for the Department of Environment.
In the notice, the waste authority disputes the classification and sanctions associated with the citations. It says that drivers are trained on updated safety policies that are enforced, that the truck with a broken step that was identified as a problem during the January visit had been decommissioned and was no longer in use at the time, and that the fire extinguishers in question have since been replaced.
When an employer contests a ticket, Peck said the state agency chief first meets with the employer to try to negotiate a settlement. This can include compromises such as extending the time an employer has to correct a dangerous condition, reducing the fines or agreeing to a fine payment plan.
Another option, she said, is for the employer to agree to use the money earmarked for the fine to improve the safety of its workers.
If the parties do not reach a settlement, Peck said, the matter would be reviewed by a review board. A hearing officer would make a decision after hearing arguments from both sides.
Renee Barela Gutierrez, general counsel for the North Central Solid Waste Authority, said Thursday that the multigovernmental agency has always taken requests from the Occupational Safety and Health Bureau seriously and “responded promptly to everything.”
