Business

OSHA must get warrant for casino interviews

By Becky Pallack

Arizona Daily Star

Tucson, Arizona | Published: 05.01.2007

A federal judge has ruled that the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration will have to get another warrant if it wants an inspector to interview workers at Casino del Sol.

The seven-month-old controversy started when OSHA tried to enter Casino del Sol as part of a nationwide program to regularly inspect warehouses and maintenance yards to reduce injury rates at those facilities. An inspector was refused entry in October but was able to check out the casino property in January when he came back with a warrant.

That warrant, however, did not include language allowing the inspector to talk to workers about their everyday safety practices. Pascua Yaqui tribal officials stopped the inspector from interviewing workers, saying he was overstepping the warrant.

OSHA also asked to inspect Casino of the Sun, the other casino owned and operated by the Pascua Yaqui tribe, but the tribe refused because it wasn't listed on the warrant.

OSHA asked U.S. District Court Judge Frank Zapata to hold the casino and the tribe in contempt of court, but on Friday the judge sided with the tribe. Justin Ruggieri, interim attorney general for the tribe, was unavailable for comment Monday.

If OSHA asks for another warrant, it could win the chance to question casino workers. OSHA's report on the inspection has not been made public.

Casino del Sol, which opened in 2001, has never been inspected by OSHA, according to a database of inspection records. The Yaqui-owned casinos employ around 1,400 people.

● Contact reporter Becky Pallack at 573-4224 or at bpallack@azstarnet.com.

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OSHA must get warrant for casino interviews