Opinion ID: 2571502
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: Sufficiency of the Commission's Prima Facie Case

Text: [¶23] In her order, the hearing examiner concluded that WOSHA met its burden of proving the violation. Three Sons contends that proof of the violation was not sufficient to establish the Commission's prima facie case; the Commission was also required to show it was foreseeable that the employees would violate the safety rules by entering the trench despite Mr. Austin's instruction to stay out of the trench until protective equipment was in place. Three Sons contends the Commission presented no evidence showing that the violation was foreseeable. Given the absence of evidence that the violation was foreseeable, Three Sons asserts, the hearing examiner's ruling amounts to the imposition of strict liability, a result not intended by the OSHA statutes. WOSHA responds that evidence was presented showing the violation was foreseeable. [¶24] Most courts that have addressed the issue have concluded it is not enough for the government to prove the violation. In order to make the prima facie showing necessary to satisfy its burden of proof, the government must prove the violation occurred and the employer knew or with reasonable diligence could have known the violation was likely. New York State Electric, 88 F.3d at 105. Proof of the employer's actual or constructive knowledge of the violation is essential to the government's prima facie case. Id. Constructive knowledge may be shown by evidence that the employer failed to establish an adequate safety program promoting compliance with safety standards. Id. at 105-06. [¶25] At the hearing, WOSHA presented Mr. Bulkley's testimony that he saw three men in the trench performing various types of work around what appeared to be a water line. He also testified that he asked the men if they had been trained, they responded that they had not been, and when he asked them who told them to go into the trench, they pointed to Mr. English. Mr. Bulkley asked Mr. English if he told the men to go into the ditch and he denied having done so. Mr. Bulkley spoke with the three employees again and they recanted what they had said earlier and indicated they had gone into the trench on their own volition because they did not want it to appear that they were not working. Mr. Bulkley then spoke to Mr. Austin, the supervisor on the job, who stated the men were new hires and had not been trained on trench safety prior to being moved over to the trench to assist with installing saddles on the water lines in the trench. [¶26] WOSHA also presented the testimony of WOSHA compliance supervisor, Johnnie Hall. He testified that he asked Three Sons for documentation showing that the employees in the trench had been instructed on the rules concerning trench safety. Three Sons provided no such documentation. Mr. Hall also testified he reviewed documentation provided by Three Sons concerning safety meetings and it indicated only one of the three employees in the trench had attended any safety meetings and he had attended only one such meeting. Mr. Hall also testified that he reviewed documentation showing that the day after the WOSHA inspection Three Sons reprimanded Mr. English for allowing three members of his crew to enter the trench without adequate protections in place. [¶27] This testimony alone was enough to establish a prima facie case that the violation was foreseeable because of inadequacies in safety precautions, employee training and supervision. The evidence was undisputed that two of the three employees observed in the trench had not received excavation safety training and that only one of the employees had received any safety training at all. It was also undisputed that Mr. English received a written warning the day after the inspection for allowing three employees from his crew to enter the unprotected trench. Although Three Sons presented evidence that Mr. English had no supervisory authority over the employees and did not instruct them to enter the trench, the hearing examiner was entitled to weigh the evidence and make findings and conclusions based upon what she deemed the more credible evidence. Given that the evidence supports the conclusion that Three Sons knew, or with the exercise of reasonable care could have known, that a violation was likely, the hearing examiner's failure to specify that element of the state's burden in her written order does not give rise to reversible error.