The defendant, Rodney Smith Trucking, Inc., was represented by Sandra Smith, an officer of the corporation. The parties presented evidence and statements and stipulated that Smith's statements were to be considered the equivalent of testimony. Pat Martin of Business Support Services recorded the proceedings. Whether defendant's lack of knowledge of administrative regulations and its immediate compliance with the law once it learned it was in violation absolves it of liability for an assessed penalty. The Safety Compliance Officer also cited the employer for allowing its employees to approach the hazardous pinch point area of the log loader without informing the operator of that intent or receiving acknowledgment from the operator that the operator understood the employee's intention.
Defendant owns and operates four log trucks.
Defendant had just purchased the log loader and was unaware of the Administrative Rules' requirements concerning guards and machine operation. The log loader came without a windshield guard designed to prevent logs from crashing into the operator's cab. 25 Defendant has no record of prior offenses. The audience shows that the defendant promptly ordered and installed a satisfactory metal guard over the cab windshield of the log loader. At hearing Ms. Smith carefully and credibly explained that defendant had no prior record of violations and that because this was the first log loader it had purchased defendant was unfamiliar with the safety regulations concerning log loaders.