County's Safety Program Rebooted

The Caswell County Board of Commissioners unanimously approved a major overhaul of the County's Safety and Health Manual at their Monday, January 5, 2026 meeting, just in time for a Tuesday meeting with the NC Department of Labor. 

The 69-page manual is a product of the county’s Safety Committee, which was formed in July of 2025, at the request of County Manager, Scott Whitaker.

Whitaker had been employed by Caswell County Government for 42 days when compliance safety and health officers from the NC Department of Labor (NCDOL) performed an OSHA inspection of four County departments – EMS, Maintenance, Solid Waste, and the Sheriff’s Office. 

The Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 creates specific workplace safety and health standards to protect employees. In North Carolina, the NCDOL enforces those federal standards and creates state-specific regulations to further ensure workplace safety. 

Caswell’s June 9, 2025 OSHA inspection revealed findings in each of four departments inspected, prompting Whitaker to call for a complete “reboot” of the county’s safety program. 

In July, the Board of Commissioners approved the formation of a new Safety Committee, appointing the following nine county staff members to serve on the Committee: Clayton Myers (Sheriff’s Office); Jennifer Eastwood (Public Health); R.D Hayes (Maintenance); A.J. Fuqua (Solid Waste); Kenneth Everett (911 Communications); John Yarbrough (Emergency Management); Donnie Powell (Central Permitting); Melissa Williamson (Manager’s Office); and Crystal Stauffer (Human Resources).

“Caswell took the inspections and issues seriously,” Whitaker said on Wednesday. “It was ‘all hands on deck’ to solve identified problems. New procedures are in place, and both employees and citizens will be safer moving forward.”

Deputy County Manager Melissa Williamson noted during Monday’s presentation that the new manual had been developed in alignment with OSHA standards and compared to manuals from other counties. She emphasized that while the manual had been a key product, it was just one of many tasks taken on by members of the Committee, including the development of safety programs to ensure compliance with regulation, implementation of workplace inspections, hazard identification, incident investigation, and promotion of safety awareness and training. 

Staff told the Commissioners on Monday that they were hopeful the ongoing effort would reduce the fines related to the June 9^th findings. The findings within the Sheriff’s Office did not result in any fines, but findings within EMS, Maintenance, and Solid Waste resulted in $37,700 in anticipated fines. 

When asked for more detail on Wednesday, Whitaker shared that issues included: lock-out/tag-out for energized/powered equipment; electrical outlets not being weather-sealed; a drill press without a guard (it didn’t come with one new) and not anchored to the floor; an emergency exit improperly locked; and structural/build deficiencies with the deck of a building. 

He also noted that all issues were corrected well ahead of abatement deadlines, and during the OSHA inspections where possible.

Tuesday’s meeting with the NCDOL was considered an “informal conference” and allowed the County an opportunity to ask for the reduction of those fines after the provided an update on how the safety gaps had been addressed and reforms implemented. 

On Wednesday, Whitaker was still anticipating a reduction in fines but said that it would be Friday, January 9 before he would learn how much that reduction might be. He explained that was the day he expected to receive a proposed “Settlement Agreement” from the NCDOL that would detail those amounts. The Board of Commissioners will then have 15 days to accept or contest the Settlement Agreement so it will likely be on their January 20, 2025 meeting agenda.

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