THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, September 17, 1994 TAG: 9409170331
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MARC DAVIS, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 76 lines
The state Supreme Court ruled Friday that Dorey Electric Co. must answer charges that it committed willful safety violations in the deaths of two employees in 1990 and 1992.
The court ruled that a Norfolk judge improperly threw out the civil charges against Dorey last year.
In doing so, the high court upheld the validity of Virginia's occupational-safety law, which Norfolk Circuit Judge John C. Morrison Jr. had ruled unconstitutional.
If the Supreme Court had upheld Morrison, the ruling could have created havoc for regulating job safety in Virginia.
Morrison had ruled, in July 1993, that the state's occupational-safety law was unconstitutional because it gave too much power to the Safety and Health Codes Board.
But the Supreme Court ruled that the law is properly written, and sent the Dorey cases back to Norfolk Circuit Court.
Dorey faces up to $89,300 in civil penalties from the state Labor Department.
That means the cases probably will go to trial, unless there is an out-of-court settlement, said Dorey's attorney, Guilford D. Ware of Norfolk.
``I knew I had a heavy burden because they (Supreme Court justices) don't like to declare statutes unconstitutional,'' Ware said. ``It's discouraging.''
But the mother of one of the dead men said she was elated at the court's ruling.
``I'm just very, very thankful,'' Linda Roberson said. ``They need to have hearings on this. I just feel that's right. I just feel, why have laws like that if people can ignore them?''
The two Dorey employees, both apprentices, were killed in unrelated on-the-job accidents:
On May 1, 1990, Lester G. Hales II died when he cut into a live electrical cable carrying 2,300 volts at Norfolk International Airport. He was 25.
Safety inspectors said Hales' foreman ordered him to cut the cable.
They said the foreman had a probe to detect which cables were live, and had a key to turn off the current, but didn't use either. They said there were no work lights in the dark hole, only a defective flashlight held by the foreman.
Inspectors cited Dorey for eight safety violations and assessed a $68,000 civil penalty.
On Feb. 12, 1992, Scott J. Roberson died when he was run over by a concrete truck on Interstate 64 at the Tidewater Drive exit. He was 23.
Inspectors said Dorey supervisors told the concrete truck driver to back quickly across two lanes of highway traffic to the opposite side.
Roberson was the truck's spotter, but he was not wearing a safety vest so he could be seen more easily, the inspectors said.
The Labor Department cited Dorey for seven safety violations and assessed a $21,300 civil penalty.
The cases were combined in Norfolk Circuit Court, and Morrison heard both. He threw out the cases, ruling that the state's occupational-safety law was an unconstitutional delegation of power by the legislature.
But on Friday, the Supreme Court overturned Morrison, ruling that the law provides enough standards to guide the labor commissioner in establishing regulations, and, therefore, it is constitutional.
Such delegation of power, by the legislature to administrative agencies, ``is essential to carry out the legitimate functions of government,'' the court wrote. ILLUSTRATION: Photos
On May 1, 1990, Lester G. Hales II, left, died when he cut into a
live electrical cable. On Feb. 12, 1992, Scott J. Roberson died when
he was run over by a truck on I-64.
KEYWORDS: VIRGINIA STATE SUPREME COURT RULING by CNB