CONTRACT 5126 OtherAgreement No. 5126
NOTIFICATION OF OCCUPATIONAL DEATHS AND SERIOUS INJURIES AND
SERIOUS ENVIRONMENTAL INCIDENTS
OPERATIONAL AGREEMENT
BETWEEN
LOS ANGELES COUNTYDISTRICTATTORNEY'S OFFICE
AND
CITY OF EL SEGUNDO AND ITS FIRE DEPARTMENT
Recitals
California's Occupational Safety and Health Administration ( "OSHA ") is responsible for
issuing rules designed to ensure a safe and healthy workplace for workers throughout this
state. California has a broad and comprehensive array of laws and regulations designed to
protect the environment and ensure the safety of its citizens. A violation of those rules
and laws may result not only in administrative fines and penalties but, also, potential
criminal liability.
Labor Code Section 6425 provides that any employer, or any employee with control over
a workplace or other employees, who willfully violates any safety rule and causes death
or serious injury to any worker may be guilty of a felony, punishable by up to three years
in prison and, in the case of corporate defendants, up to $1.5 million in fines.
Penal Code Section 387 provides that any employer or manager who knew or should
have known of a concealed workplace danger and failed to both: 1) warn affected
employees in writing, and 2) warn OSHA in writing, may be guilty of a felony,
punishable by up to three years in prison and, in the case of corporate defendants, up to
$1 million in fines.
Under well- established legal principles, an employer, or any employee with control over
a workplace or other employees, may also be guilty of homicide. They may be
prosecuted for involuntary manslaughter, punishable by up to four years in prison, if the
death was caused by gross criminal negligence; or second degree murder, punishable by
15 years to life in prison, if there was conscious disregard of a known and serious risk of
death.
The Los Angeles County District Attorney's office desires to enlist the assistance of first
responders in reporting occupational deaths and injuries, and serious environmental
incidents, and the City of El Segundo ( "City ") and its Fire Department ( "Department ")
agree to provide such assistance.
Agreement No. 5126
Terms and Conditions
Accordingly, the City agrees that whenever the Department becomes aware of either an
occupational death or life- threatening injury at a workplace or a serious environmental
incident,' the Department will:
1) immediately notify the Los Angeles District Attorney Command Center, which is
staffed 24 hours a day and 7 days a week, at (213) 974 -3607; and
2) provide a call -back number and basic information about the incident, including
the name and location of the employer or potentially responsible party, a brief
description of the incident, the name and age of any deceased or injured persons,
the severity of any injury, the manner in which the injury was sustained, and
contact information for the employer's safety manager or other responsible
person.
The Los Angeles County District Attorney Command Center will be responsible for
contacting an appropriate prosecutor from a rollout contacts list that will be maintained at
the Command Center. That prosecutor will then be responsible for making contact with
the Department and obtaining any necessary information about the workplace or
environmental incident, and arranging, in appropriate cases, to roll out to the scene, along
with one or more District Attorney Investigators.
At the scene of the workplace or environmental incident, the lead investigative agency
shall have primary responsibility to investigate the incident. The responsibility of the
District Attorney rollout team shall include: 1) assisting and advising the lead
investigative agency on criminal law issues, and 2) observing and, when appropriate,
participating in the investigation.
District Attorney personnel will make contact with the lead investigative agency at the
scene upon arrival. As soon as practical, the Department in charge of the investigation
will provide District Attorney personnel with an initial briefing of the incident that should
include: 1) the names and present whereabouts of the officers or investigators involved in
the incident; 2) the names, contact information and present whereabouts of all civilian
witnesses, including copies of any field identification cards; 3) the statements of officers,
investigators and civilian witnesses; 4) any physical evidence discovered; 5) a walk -
through of the scene; and 6) the medical condition of any injured persons.
The lead investigative agency shall be responsible for securing and maintaining the scene
but will ensure that District Attorney personnel have access to the scene. All physical
evidence shall remain in the custody of the lead investigative agency.
' For purposes of this agreement, "serious environmental incident" means any environmental
incident which has caused a death or serious injury or poses a serious and widespread risk to
public health. Examples of such serious environmental incidents include, but are not limited to,
illegal treatment, storage and /or disposal of hazardous waste, and oil spills.
2
Agreement No. 5126
This Operational Agreement will remain in effect unless and until either party terminates
the Agreement by providing written notice thereof to the other party. Either party may
terminate the Agreement at any time.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF the parties hereto have executed this Agreement on the
dates written below.
ATTEST:
m r
Tra y er, ,ity Cler
APPROVED AS TO NORM:
Lj � l for
Mark 6. Hensley, C torney
LOS ANGELES COUNTY
DISTRICT ATTORNEY'S OFFICE
JA RItTACEY, District Att e.. Date