Eldorado Resorts Contractor Gambles With Public Safety:
Cited for Unlicensed Contractors & Unsafe Asbestos Handling
Eldorado Resorts Contractor Cited for Unlicensed Work, Unsafe Asbestos Handling
The Eldorado Resorts hired an out-of-state contractor to remodel hotel-casino Circus Circus Reno, but the contractor was recently cited for using unsafe practices and has a history of jeopardizing public safety. Additionally, the contractor was cited in April for knowingly hiring five unlicensed contractors.
Virginia-based Digney York Associates, LLC was hired to renovate the hotel-casino Circus Circus this year, but footage and photos reveal that the workers are not following OSHA standards, which puts their workers and potentially the public at risk.
The company was cited by OSHA on April 24, 2018 for two violations. One was described as a “serious” violation involving asbestos handling. The other was a violation of Nevada Revised Statutes requiring workers to present a valid completion card that shows completion of an OSHA-mandated safety training course within 15 days of hiring.
Other hazards and violations include:
- forcing traffic to drive unexpectedly into a suicide lane to avoid obstacles without providing any traffic notification or flaggers,
- not controlling their work zones,
- not ensuring their workers are wearing the required protective gear,
- and hiring unlicensed out-of-state contractors, for which they were fined a total of $21,500 in April.
“(Cars and trucks) were veering into the middle lane, so that could cause a head-on collision with the opposing traffic,” said Northwest Regional Organizing Coalition Market Representative Jake McNeill. “They were not controlling their work zones, which is when accidents happen. Most reputable companies would not take such risks.”
Northern Nevada Building and Construction Trades leaders told the Circus Circus owners Gregg Carano and CEO Gary Carano about the safety violations they had observed the out-of-state contractors making on April 26, but the Circus Circus has continued working with Digney York, which has made no observable changes in safety practices.
More than 300 people have signed a petition requesting that Eldorado Resorts fire Digney York for unsafe practices and unlicensed contractors. To sign the petition, click here.
Cited for Working with Unlicensed Contractors
The Nevada State Contractor Board fined Digney York $21,500 for knowingly entering into a contract with five unlicensed contractors to work on Circus Circus’s renovations. The unlicensed contractors included:
- All Shores Flooring, Inc.,
- Ideal Renovations and Construction Management
- Zap’s Electrical, LLC,
- Wall Tech Renovations, Inc., and
- Coastline Construction, Inc.
“Shame on the Circus Circus for not valuing worker safety, public safety, and for working with an out-of-state company who knowingly works with unlicensed contractors,” said Russell James, the Regional Director for District Council 16 of the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades. “They know what Digney York is doing and they’re continuing to work with them. Support your community by choosing companies that value safety and hire local businesses.”
Circus Circus Contractor Gambles with Worker & Public Safety
Workers were photographed working on the Circus Circus without wearing any of the required personal protection equipment such as hard hats, work boots, or safety vests to improve visibility while working on public streets.
Workers were photographed shoving debris off of forklifts into an unsecured dumpster. This is a public safety hazard because the sidewalk and street remained open to the public without flaggers or standard traffic notification. Workers had no means of preventing the debris from falling outside the dumpster. If something were to fall on someone or in the roadway, they could be injured, McNeill said.
Members of the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades and the Laborers’ International Union of North America (LiUNA) have protested the Circus Circus’s use of out-of-state workers and the owners’ disregard for employee and public safety every Friday since they let the Circus Circus owners know about the safety violations.
Trucks Forced into Suicide Lane without Traffic Controls
Contractors block lane & force traffic into suicide lane without traffic controls or notice.
Workers Seen Without Required Safety Gear
Circus Circus’s contractor is not ensuring their workers wear the required protective gear such as hard hats, protective boots, jeans and vests for visibility while in live traffic.
No Control of their work zones:
Circus CIrcus’s contractor Digney York are not properly control their work zones. This forces traffic to drive unexpectedly into a suicide lane to avoid obstacles without providing any traffic notification or flaggers. This puts vehicles at risk for head-on collisions.
No Safety Gear: No hard hats, boots or safety vests.
No Safety Gear: No hard hats, boots or safety vests.
Blocking Active Roadway with No Safety Precautions
No Safety Gear: No hard hats, boots or safety vests.
A History of Disregard for Public Safety
Digney York has a history of ignoring safety regulations on other projects. In San Francisco a double-decker tour bus lost his breaks and intentionally drove into a multiple orange traffic security barriers to slow down, but was shocked to discover the barriers crumpled and flew away “like paper.”
According to city regulations, the barriers are supposed to carry about 160 gallons of water to make them secure, and to slow down vehicles that run into them. But, according to a KTVU news report employees of Digney York, the company in charge of securing the construction permit, said they don’t secure the barriers even though it’s the law, because it makes them difficult to move them around, which of course is exactly the point.