____________________________________
)
ELIZABETH DOLE, Secretary of )
Labor, United States Department of )
Labor, )
)
Complainant, )
)
vs )
)
SIMPSON PAPER COMPANY, )
)
Respondent. ) OSHRC DOCKET NO. 89-2009
____________________________________)
)
HUMBOLDT LOCAL 67, ASSOCIATION OF )
WESTERN PULP AND PAPER WORKERS, )
)
Authorized )
Employee )
Representative. )
____________________________________)
Complainant and Respondent have reached a full and complete settlement of the above-captioned matter presently pending before the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission. The parties hereby agree as follows:
(a) The Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission ("the Commission") has jurisdiction of this matter pursuant to Section 10(c) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970. 84 Stat. 1590; 29 U.S.C. 651 et seq. ("the Act").
(b) Respondent, Simpson Paper Company, is a corporation with its principal place of business located in San Francisco, California. At all times material to this proceeding Respondent has been engaged in the business of manufacturing in the pulp and paper manufacturing industry. During the course of Respondent's business, its employees perform various tasks in the pulp and paper manufacturing process. During the course of Respondent's business, Respondent uses material and equipment which it receives from places located outside California. Respondent, as a result of these aforesaid activities, is an employer engaged in a business affecting "commerce" as defined in Sections 3(3) and 3(5) of the Act, has "employees" as defined by Section 3(6) of the Act, and is subject to the requirements of the Act.
(c) As a result of an inspection of Respondent's Humboldt Pulp Mill in Eureka, California, citations alleging violations of the Act were issued to Respondent on June 12, 1989, pursuant to Sections 8 and 9 of the Act. One of the citations alleged multiple violations of the Act's general duty clause and alleged that Respondent's workers were exposed to the hazard of the collapse of a pulp storage tank. Notifications of proposed penalties in connection with the alleged violations were also issued to Respondent on June 12, 1989.
(d) Respondent disagreed only with the general duty clause citation and the related notification of proposed penalty, and filed a timely notice of contest with the Secretary of Labor, which was transmitted to the Commission pursuant to Section 10(c) of the Act. The other uncontested citation became a final order of the Commission pursuant to the Act.
The Secretary amends the general duty clause citation and proposed penalty as follows:
(a) The citation is amended to characterize the alleged violations as violations of Section 17 of the Act. The proposed penalties for the Section 5(a)(1) violations are reduced to an aggregate of $310,000.
Respondent agrees to the following provisions:
(a) Respondent agrees to withdraw its notice of contest to the above-described citations and notification of proposed penalty as amended herein, and within thirty days of the signing of this settlement agreement, to pay the U.S. Department of Labor $310,000 in full financial settlement of the general duty clause citations. The payment shall be made payable to "OSHA-Labor."
(b) Respondent has taken steps to assure the structural integrity of its pulp storage tanks and agrees that it will, in the future, maintain the pulp storage tank that is the subject of this citation and all similar pulp storage tanks in a safe and structurally sound condition, such that employees are not exposed to the hazard of a collapse of a pulp storage tank resulting from a structural failure.
(c) During the course of its own investigation and analysis of the accident in question, Respondent reached the conclusion that its general safety program could be improved by the creation of a corporate safety position with company-wide responsibilities and reporting requirements to the company president. The duties of the corporate safety manager will include: providing technical expertise and direction, collating safety statistics, assisting operations personnel, implementing programs, training operations safety personnel and periodically auditing safety performance and programs at the operations facilities. Respondent has agreed to include the creation and implementation of that position in this stipulation. Attached as Appendix A is a list of the Respondent's present facilities which will be served by this position. Respondent further agrees that the safety manager shall audit the safety performance of each operating facility as soon as possible, but no later than within two years of the signing of this Stipulation and Settlement Agreement, and respondent shall maintain records of such visits and the results, for a period of two years after each audit.
(d) Respondent agrees to notify the Secretary in writing on September 1, 1990, of the steps it has taken to implement this settlement agreement. This confirmation report shall be signed by a responsible corporate official of Simpson Paper Company, and shall be made available to the appropriate collective-bargaining unit representatives or, where no such unit exists, to the appropriate safety and health committee for each Simpson Paper Company facility.
It is agreed that the terms of this Stipulation and Settlement Agreement will not constitute an admission of any kind by either party in any proceeding before any court, agency, commission or any other body in any action arising from, growing out of, or related to the matter set forth in the citations, except for further proceedings under the Act. This Stipulation and Settlement Agreement is made in order to avoid further litigation and expense to both the government and Respondent and to resolve differences regarding compliance with the Act.
For purposes of service and notice, Respondent certifies that a copy of this Stipulation and Settlement Agreement has been served on affected employees at the Humboldt Pulp Mill pursuant to 29 C.F.R. 2200.7 and .100.
Each party agrees to bear all of its own attorneys fees, costs, and expenses arising out of and incidental to the instant matter.
Wherefore, the parties agree that under the above-noted conditions, this matter docketed before the Commission as Docket No. 89-2009 is hereby settled.
For Complainant: For Respondent:
ALAN C. McMILLAN Simpson Paper Company
Deputy Assistant Secretary
of Labor for Occupational
Safety and Health
By________________________
ROBERT P. DAVIS Joseph R. Breed
Solicitor of Labor
Vice President and General
Counsel
________________________
DANIEL TEEHAN
Regional Solicitor PILLSBURY, MADISON & SUTRO
ALSON R. KEMP, JR.
DARIEN K. WALLACE
________________________ 225 Bush Street
KENNETH A. HELLMAN Post Office Box 7880
Senior Trial Attorney San Francisco, CA 94120
Date: 7-9-90
By_____________________
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR Alson R. Kemp,
Attorneys for Complainant
Attorneys for Respondent
Simpson Paper Company
For Authorized Employee
Representative:
Date: 6/27/90
________________________
Date: 7-2-90
Wherefore, the parties agree that under the above-noted conditions, this matter docketed before the Commission as Docket No. 89-2009 is hereby settled.
For Complainant: For Respondent:
ALAN C. McMILLAN Simpson Paper Company
Deputy Assistant Secretary
of Labor for Occupational
Safety and Health
By________________________
ROBERT P. DAVIS Joseph R. Breed
Solicitor of Labor
Vice President and General
Counsel
_________________________
DANIEL TEEHAN
Regional Solicitor PILLSBURY, MADISON & SUTRO
ALSON R. KEMP, JR.
DARIEN K. WALLACE
_________________________ 225 Bush Street
KENNETH A. HELLMAN Post Office Box 7880
Senior Trial Attorney San Francisco, CA 94120
Date: 7-9-90
By_____________________
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR Alson R. Kemp,
Attorneys for Complainant
Attorneys for Respondent
Simpson Paper Company
For Authorized Employee
Representative:
Date: 6-19-90
________________________
Date: 7-2-90
____________________________________
)
ELIZABETH DOLE, Secretary of )
Labor, United States Department of )
Labor, )
)
Complainant, )
)
vs. )
)
SIMPSON PAPER COMPANY, )
)
Respondent. )
____________________________________) OSHRC DOCKET NO. 89-2009
)
HUMBOLDT LOCAL 67, ASSOCIATION OF )
WESTERN PULP AND PAPER WORKERS, )
)
Authorized )
Employee )
Representative. )
____________________________________)
More than ten days having elapsed since service of the Stipulation and Settlement Agreement by posting at the workplace and by mailing a copy to the authorized employee representative and no objection to the time set for abatement having been filed by an employee or authorized employee representative, all matters encompassed within the Stipulation and Settlement Agreement entered into by the Secretary of Labor and Simpson Paper Company have become a final order of the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.
For Complainant: For Respondent:
ALAN C. McMILLAN Simpson Paper Company
Deputy Assistant Secretary
of Labor for Occupational
Safety and Health
By _____________________
ROBERT P. DAVIS Joseph R. Breed
Solicitor of Labor
Vice President and General
Counsel
__________________________
DANIEL TEEHAN
Regional Solicitor PILLSBURY, MADISON & SUTRO
ALSON R. KEMP, JR.
DARIEN K. WALLACE
225 Bush Street
__________________________ Post Office Box 7880 San
KENNETH A. HELLMAN Francisco, CA 94120
Senior Trial Attorney
Date: 7-9-90
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR Alson R. Kemp, Jr.
Attorneys for Complainant
Attorneys for Respondent
For Authorized Employee Simpson Paper Company
Representative:
Date 6/27/90
___________________________
Date: 7-2-90
IT IS SO ORDERED:
Date:_______________________
____________________________
Benjamin R. Loye
ADMINISTRATIVE LAW JUDGE
Occupational Safety and
Health Review Commission
final order of the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.
For Complainant: For Respondent:
ALAN C. McMILLAN Simpson Paper Company
Deputy Assistant Secretary
of Labor for Occupational
Safety and Health
By _____________________
ROBERT P. DAVIS Joseph R. Breed
Solicitor of Labor
Vice President and General
Counsel
__________________________
DANIEL TEEHAN
Regional Solicitor PILLSBURY, MADISON & SUTRO
ALSON R. KEMP, JR.
DARIEN K. WALLACE
225 Bush Street
__________________________ Post Office Box 7880 San
KENNETH A. HELLMAN Francisco, CA 94120
Senior Trial Attorney
Date: 7-9-90
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR Alson R. Kemp, Jr.
Attorneys for Complainant
Attorneys for Respondent
For Authorized Employee Simpson Paper Company
Representative:
Date 6-19-90
___________________________
Date: 7-2-90
IT IS SO ORDERED:
Date:_______________________
______________________________
Benjamin R. Loye
ADMINISTRATIVE LAW JUDGE
Occupational Safety and
Health Review Commission