Report: L.A. to Appeal Safety Violations for Unsanitary Conditions

Friday, August 23, 2019 | 0

The city of Los Angeles plans to appeal a pair of workplace safety citations for exposing workers to trash and bodily fluids outside City Hall East, according to a report by the Los Angeles Times.

City Hall East
(Pintrest photo)

The Division of Occupational Safety and Health, commonly known as Cal/OSHA, issued one citation to the Los Angeles City Attorney and another to the General Services Department with combined penalties of $1,995.

The Times reports that the safety violations were issued in response to a complaint by Deputy City Attorney Elizabeth Greenwood, who says she contracted typhus while working at City Hall East.

Rob Wilcox, a spokesman for the city attorney’s office, told the Times the city will appeal both citations.

“The tentative OSHA citation addresses conditions on the exterior grounds of City Hall East,” he said. “Our office clearly has no role in maintaining the building’s exterior grounds.”

The Times reports the state’s workplace safety agency cited the Los Angeles Police Department for unsanitary conditions at the Central Division station and assessed penalties of $5,425. The Department of General Services was fined $1,910 for the infestation at the police station.

In July, the Police Department announced that it purchased a $110,000 robot that emits ultraviolet light intended to kill germs at the Central Division station.

That announcement came after a worker at the Central Division station was diagnosed with typhus-like symptoms.