Prosecutors Back Work Safety Bill

By JEFF LEEDS

Sept. 30, 1997 12 AM PT

TIMES STAFF WRITER

Declaring that state laws fail to punish corporations for lax safety practices, several Los Angeles-area prosecutors called Monday for Gov. Pete Wilson to sign legislation that would stiffen penalties for employers who willfully endanger their workers.

A bill sponsored by Assemblyman Wally Knox (D-Los Angeles) would raise fines for negligent companies up to $1 million. The bill also would allow prosecutors to file criminal charges against the main employer at a job site even if the injured worker is employed by a subcontractor.

Wilson has not reviewed the bill and has not decided whether to sign it, a spokeswoman said. It has met vigorous opposition from both the state Department of Industrial Relations and the California Chamber of Commerce.

Criminal prosecution of workplace accidents is unusual. Of the 100 worker deaths that occur on job sites in Los Angeles County each year, criminal charges are filed in only about 10. But prosecutors, speaking for many of their colleagues from around the state, said the tougher penalties are needed to punish or deter defendants in such cases.

Under current laws, a company can be charged with either a misdemeanor labor code violation with a maximum fine of $70,000, or with manslaughter--a felony with a maximum penalty of $10,000 and two to four years in state prison.

“As the law stands now, it’s seriously out of balance,” said Edwin Lowry, director of environmental projects for the California District Attorneys’ Assn. “They simply make corporate homicide the cost of doing business.”

Knox’s bill would raise the fine for manslaughter to $1 million and the misdemeanor fine to $500,000.

“We appreciate the intent of the bill,” said Rick Rice, a spokesman for the Department of Industrial Relations. “However, in its final form it still has some major flaws.” Rice said prosecutors could file charges against multiple contractors even if only one had broken safety rules.

Corporations also have voiced opposition to the bill. A business advocacy group, the Coalition for California Jobs, has placed Knox’s legislation on a list of “job killer” bills it hopes to defeat.

Knox said “attaching the ‘job killer’ epithet to a bill aimed at preventing killings on the job seems to go beyond normal limits of propriety.”

But opponents said it was unfair to allow prosecutors to seek charges against an employer for the failures of a subcontractor.

Julianne Broyles, a spokeswoman for the California Chamber of Commerce, said the bill was an attempt to let district attorneys conduct “a deep-pocket search” of corporations that may already be exposed to civil litigation.

But supporters of the bill insisted that if it passes, district attorneys and local prosecutors would use discretion.

The notion that “this is an open license [for prosecutors] to extort money is just nonsense,” said John M. Fentis, Long Beach’s deputy city attorney for environmental crimes.

Construction company officials said the bill--particularly the provision that allows employers to be held liable for subcontractors’ employees--would discourage business.

The extra liability would be “one more risk you have to deal with,” said Andrew Poup, safety director for Manson Construction Co., a Seattle-based firm being prosecuted by Long Beach for a crane accident that resulted in the death of a worker in January.

“When these tragedies happen, it’s just horrible for everyone involved,” Poup said. “Any company that’s worth its salt takes safety seriously.”