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OSC Validates AFGE’s Complaint of Asbestos Contamination at FCI Dublin in Report to White House, Congress
November 27, 2023
Categories:
The Insider
The U.S. Office of Special Counsel (OSC) has determined that management at Federal Correctional Institution Dublin in California violated OSHA standards by exposing staff and inmates to asbestos, validating a complaint filed by AFGE.
OSC Nov. 20 sent a letter to the President and Congress reporting on the validity of the whistleblower complaints filed last year by AFGE Local 3584 President Edward Canales, Secretary-Treasurer Susan Canales, and Vice President Jose Lau following management’s failure to resolve the workplace contamination issues brought forward by the local.
OSC had investigated the complaints and found a “substantial likelihood of wrongdoing” by management at FCI Dublin for failing to address asbestos and mold contamination complaints. OSC requested that the Justice Department investigate the charges and submit its report.
The Bureau of Prisons’ Office of General Counsel and Review subsequently launched an investigation and substantiated some of the allegations. They admitted there was an Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) violation regarding asbestos contamination but concluded that the mold issue had been addressed, albeit delayed.
“The investigation further noted that new executive staff at FCI Dublin appear to be responsive and committed to addressing problems as they arise,” the Justice Department said in an agency report. “The new Warden has shown commitment to ensuring that these types of complaints and any other similar issues are adequately addressed by speaking with each unit of staff members at FCI Dublin to hear and address their concerns as well as conducting thorough walk-throughs of impacted buildings to ensure that updates and repairs are adequately addressing the issue.”
AFGE thanks the Office of Special Counsel for completing its work and documenting that employees and inmates were exposed to asbestos.
“While we do not agree with the decision not to notify individuals of their potential exposure, we are satisfied by the efforts made to prevent future exposures. Likewise, leaking roofs and mold contamination would not have been addressed without our members speaking out,” AFGE Assistant General Counsel Ward Morrow said.
“We now call on Congress and its oversight committees to further investigate the failure by the Department of Justice and the Bureau of Prisons to provide full disclosure to the staff and inmates as to their exposure, as well as the need for proper medical surveillance.”
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