LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Changes are coming to Nevada OSHA as officials work to clear a backlog of pending reviews.
According to state officials, there are currently 133 pending cases before the Occupational Safety and Health Review Board and the oldest case dates back to 2018.
In February, lawmakers expressed concerns about the backlog.
"It seems like they might need to even tighten that meeting frequency more to ensure, especially, that the backlog that developed because the board didn't have quorum and was unable to meet for months has piled up but also, maybe with the overall case load and volume that we're seeing," Assemblymember Howard Watts said at the time.
Nevada OSHA officials stated that's not necessarily true.
"Recent concerns have suggested that board vacancies contributed to the backlog. While the Board currently has one vacancy for a labor representative, it retains sufficient members to meet quorum requirements," an April press release states. "Periods in 2025 when meetings could not be held were not due to a lack of quorum, but rather the unavailability of a sitting labor representative."
State officials say three qualified candidates were previously submitted to the Governor's Office for consideration to fill the current vacancy.
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In February, Watts also asked state officials if there was a mandatory timeline for the review board to adjudicate those matters.
"There isn't a mandatory time frame," said Victoria Carreón, Administrator, Division of Industrial Relations. "There is a federal measure that looks at how long is it taking to complete and entire investigation and that's called the lapse time. Unfortunately, we have a very lengthy lapse time currently. I think it's over 400 days. So that is unfortunate and that is due to some of these lengthy delays with the review board. So it is something that federal OSHA does look at and something that we have our eye on and would like to improve."
Business and Industry Director Dr. Kristopher Sanchez told lawmakers that he's raised concerns about the backlog for years.
"It's not a problem that's unknown to us," Sanchez said in February. "We've been, as much as we can, encouraging them to schedule more meetings, if necessary, do everything that they can to start to move cases through the process because this is an issue that we have identified and have been trying to solve."
Since that February meeting, Sanchez, Carreón, and Review Board Chair Jorge Macias met and the board was directed to develop a 30-day, 60-day, and 90-day plan to address the backlog. They also looked at finalizing and implementing plans to "align the resolution of cases to a 180-day benchmark."
In order to do that, state officials say they have developed a forward-looking hearing schedule, will adjudicate the oldest cases first, have separate monthly meetings dedicated to administrative matters, and improve their processes to speed up case resolutions.
In addition to those measures, Nevada OSHA officials have put a new process in place that requires post-contest settlement meetings with employers to be scheduled within 20 days of a notice of contest. That is expected to reduce the number of cases that advance to the Review Board.
"The timely resolution of workplace safety cases is critical to ensuring that hazards are corrected and Nevada workers are protected," Sanchez said in press release. "We are committed to working with the Review Board to implement meaningful changes that improve efficiency, accountability, and outcomes."