House oversight chairman asks MIOSHA for records on Port Huron COVID-19 citations
The chairman of Michigan's House Oversight Committee on Thursday asked the state's workforce safety agency turn over any documents concerning COVID-19 citations given to the city of Port Huron that have not already been destroyed.
It's a request that follows widespread media coverage earlier this week of the Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Administration's dismissal of a year-old citation alleging the city violated protocols early in the pandemic, as well as areas of an Oct. 12 deposition transcript where a state compliance officer admitted to destroying communication and records related to his inspection of the city.
In a letter to MIOSHA Director Bart Pickelman, state Rep. Steve Johnson, R-Wayland, said he was concerned that "the actions by the agency and the inspector involved ... was not an isolated case."
“Hearing that a state department was burning or destroying documents is very troubling,” Johnson said in a statement, referencing news reports on the issue. “The Oversight Committee will be looking further into this case to see what happened.”
MIOSHA first fined the city $6,300 for allegedly failing to requiring employees to wear face coverings, conduct and maintain records of daily self-screening entry protocols, and training employees about the coronavirus.
The city contested the issue — based largely on the Michigan Supreme Court's opinion invalidating the governor's executive emergency orders — before rejecting a settlement.
Late Monday afternoon, Erica Quealy, deputy communications director for the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity, said MIOSHA could not provide further information on the specifics of its case against Port Huron because of the "ongoing nature of the appeals process" even after the order to dismiss as any citation or "proposed resolution of the citation" could be "subject to further review and approval by the board of health and safety compliance and appeals."
When asked about Johnson's request, Jason Moon, the department's communications director, said in an email, “As a transparent organization, MIOSHA works to comply with requests for information, and will provide the information to the oversight committee to the extent permitted by applicable laws to share our efforts of protecting Michiganders in the workplace.”
In the October deposition, Toddy Shoudy, the city's attorney, asked inspector Matthew Hartman a lengthy list of questions about the summer 2020 investigation of the city and alleged workplace coronavirus violations before, at one point, Hartman agreed the city had not violated any rules, standards or orders issued under MIOSHA.
But early on, he was asked about the records he kept from his unannounced visit to Port Huron's Municipal Office Center and email communication after the investigation.
Hartman said, workingfrom a home office, he typically burned his handwritten notes post-inspection.
Shoudy asked why emails sent to and from Harman's supervisor were also destroyed about the case and if there was something within them they "didn't want anybody to see." Harman said there wasn't.
"Why weren't those e-mails copied and made part of the official case file?" Shoudy said.
Harman replied, "It's just not standard practice for us to include every e-mail written about a specific inspection or investigation and include them in the case file."
City Manager James Freed, who's been an outspoken critic of the state's inspection response to COVID-19 workplace regulations, said he didn't have a comment related to Johnson's letter to MIOSHA. However, he reiterated earlier concerns on the citation, adding, "We just hope this never happens to anyone again."
In a news release, Johnson said the oversight committee would conduct a hearing on what unfolded. No date was given.
Contact Jackie Smith at (810) 989-6270 or jssmith@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @Jackie20Smith.
This article originally appeared on Port Huron Times Herald: House oversight chairman asks MIOSHA for records on Port Huron COVID-19 citations
