The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has opened an investigation into the safety conditions of the City of Alexandria’s Department of Recreation, Parks & Cultural Activities. A safety complaint preceded the investigation that sent a handful of OSHA officials to RPCA’s administrative office on March 10.

The initial OSHA complaint accused RPCA of falsifying a safety investigation, mishandling two near-accidents and stonewalling employee safety concerns, residents close to the situation said.

OSHA’s inquiry is categorized under tree trimming operations, indicating its investigation is focused on RPCA’s Parks branch that manages trees on public land and coordinates with residents to plant trees on private property. There are 20,000 street trees in Alexandria, according to the city’s website.

“A lot of times there’s safety problems because there’s money problems,” one resident up-to-date on RPCA operations, who agreed to speak only on background for this story, said. “Trying to do things quicker and cheaper can cost you money in the long run.”

The resident said the Parks section of RPCA has relied on outdated equipment and untrained staff for several years. This exposed workers to potentially harmful situations without proper training or tools and hindered the city’s ability to expand its tree canopy. A 2024 forestry report by the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments set the goal of increasing the region’s tree canopy to 40% by 2035.

The City of Alexandria Director of Communications Ebony Fleming did not respond to multiple requests for comment for this story.

The last OSHA investigation into RPCA was in March 2005, when an employee suffered a fatal heart attack at work.

OSHA is charged with ensuring safe working conditions and with protecting employees from retribution for reporting their superiors for violations. Inspections can be triggered by a range of incidents: workplace-related fatalities, catastrophes, injuries, health concerns and employee complaints.

The Administration, which is located within the United States Department of Labor, conducts scheduled inspections in industries with high incidences of workplace hazards as well as complainant-specific investigations when alerted to a potentially dangerous situation. Investigations can include employer and staff interviews, site visits and record audits to evaluate compliance with OSHA standards.

Virginia is one of 28 states and territories that also operates its own occupational safety hazard program, directed under the Virginia Department of Labor and Industry. VOSH, Virginia’s OSHA branch, coverage applies to most private sector workplaces and all state and local government workers. Public sector employees are not guaranteed coverage in states regulated solely by the federal OSHA.

Injury and illness rates among government employees in Virginia is 57.14% higher than in the state’s private industry, according to the Department of Labor and Industry data from 2023.

VOSH is carrying out the RPCA investigation on behalf of OSHA. VOSH adopted federal OSHA standards and added several Virginia-specific guidelines, including a tree trimming regulation that stipulates specific “safety criteria for arborists and other workers engaged in arboricultural operations,” according to Virginia code 16VAC25-73-10.

The regulation dictates safety practices, such as the need for personal protective equipment, and applies to any employee engaged in tree pruning.

OSHA uses the Gravity Based Penalty methodology to calculate employer penalties: inspectors assess the severity of hazard and the probability that an injury or illness would result from the cited violation. If an employer is unhappy with an OSHA investigation’s conclusion, they have a window of 15 business days to contest the penalty.

Various factors can contribute to reduced fines: the size of the employer’s business, recognition of their “good faith” or a record clean of citations for any serious, willful or repeated violations in the past three years.

The active investigation into RPCA appears to be atypical. Most OSHA cases require a few weeks to investigate, followed by penalty, abatement and sometimes contestment phases. If an employer is penalized and fails to abate, they can be fined between $14,270 and $15,375 per day. At the time of publication, the investigation into Alexandria’s RPCA is on day 59.

“OSHA citation items will be posted 30 (thirty) days after the employer receives the citation(s), except in cases of significant public interest,” reads a banner posted above the RPCA’s case status on OSHA’s website. There remain no citation items listed for this investigation.

VOSH Communications Manager Stephen Clausing, on Wednesday afternoon said the department would “provide additional information as soon as possible.”

Additionally, the City of Alexandria’s School Board is currently contesting two OSHA-issued penalties amounting to $23,490 for occupational exposure to lead and failure to maintain a written hazard communication program, according to a search of OSHA’s online case database.

Three of the four citations against Alexandria City Public Schools were rated with the highest gravity score of 10. OSHA opened the Board’s investigation on Oct. 4, 2024 and issued citations on March 28. The city challenged them on April 9.

The ACPS Chief of School and Community Relations Julia Burgos did not respond to multiple requests for comment for this story.