Inspection record, Santa Ynez

R. Williams Construction Company Cal/OSHA Inspection, Sep 20, 2002

Benjamin Eghbali, Esq.Legal notes by Benjamin Eghbali, Esq.,

Accident inspection in Santa Ynez: 5 citations, $22,000, 1 death investigated. One of 2 inspections on this employer's record.

Every Cal/OSHA and federal OSHA inspection of a California workplace opened since 2000: 238,466 inspections of 122,854 employers, 447,188 citations, $586,238,760 in penalties, 5,717 deaths investigated.

What happened in this inspection

Federal OSHA opened an accident inspection of R. Williams Construction Company at 3400 E. Highway 246 Chumash Casino Project, Santa Ynez (Santa Barbara County) on Sep 20, 2002. It was a partial inspection focused on safety hazards. 8 employees were recorded at the site. Inspectors issued 5 citations (3 serious, 1 willful) and proposed $91,000 in penalties; the current total is $22,000. 5 citations were contested before the Appeals Board. The case closed on Feb 2, 2007. 1 worker died in the event that led to this inspection. The employer has 1 other inspection on its California record.

Citations

Each citation names the rule, its classification and the penalty as proposed and as it stands now.

Citation 01001: 29 CFR 1926.21(b)(2) Serious
Issued Mar 17, 2003. Proposed $7,000, current $5,000. 3 workers exposed. Contested Mar 21, 2003, final order May 24, 2004. Abatement due May 1, 2003, completed. Read the rule.
Citation 01002: 29 CFR 1926.651(c)(2) Serious
Issued Mar 17, 2003. Proposed $7,000, current $5,000. 2 workers exposed. Contested Mar 21, 2003, final order May 24, 2004. Abatement due Mar 20, 2003, completed. Read the rule.
Citation 01003: 29 CFR 1926.651(k)(1) Serious
Issued Mar 17, 2003. Proposed $7,000, current $5,000. 2 workers exposed. Contested Mar 21, 2003, final order May 24, 2004. Abatement due Mar 20, 2003, completed. Read the rule.
Citation 02001: 29 CFR 1926.652(a)(1) Willful
Issued Mar 17, 2003. Proposed $70,000, current $7,000. 2 instances. Contested Mar 21, 2003, final order May 24, 2004. Abatement due Mar 20, 2003, completed. Read the rule.
Citation 03001: 29 CFR 1926.651(j)(1) General
Issued Mar 17, 2003. Proposed $0, current $0. 2 workers exposed. Contested Mar 21, 2003, final order May 24, 2004. Abatement due Mar 20, 2003, completed. Read the rule.

The accident

Sep 19, 2002. Two Employees Buried When Trench Collapses
Keywords: fracture,collapse,work rules,trench,skull,buried,cave-in,hip,work surface 1 death 1 hospitalized

Your rights

If you worked at this site, the inspection file is a public record once the case closes; request it from the Cal/OSHA district office with activity number 305565277. A worker who reported the hazard, the injury or the inspection and was then fired, demoted or cut has a retaliation claim under Labor Code 6310, one year to file with the Labor Commissioner and longer to sue. Injuries themselves go through workers' compensation. Free, confidential review: (800) 371-3088.

Source: U.S. Department of Labor OSHA enforcement data, inspection 305565277, checked Nov 1, 2026. How to read a record. Back to the safety tracker.

About this data: Records come from the U.S. Department of Labor's OSHA enforcement datasets (inspection, violation, accident and accident injury tables), which carry Cal/OSHA's state-plan inspections alongside federal ones. We load every inspection of a California worksite opened since January 1, 2000 and refresh it weekly. Employer names, addresses and industry codes are as the inspecting office recorded them; similar names are grouped where they clearly refer to the same employer. A citation can be reduced, vacated or withdrawn on appeal, and an inspection can stay open for months, so a record can change. Penalties shown as "current" reflect the latest status in the federal file. This page is public information about the employer's regulatory record, not legal advice and not a statement that any person was harmed or any law broken beyond what the record states.

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