Joe Lombardo Caught Red-Handed in Workplace Safety Violation Scandal

Joe Lombardo Caught Red-Handed in Workplace Safety Violation Scandal

Vulnerable Nevada Governor Joe Lombardo was caught covering up for major safety violations at Elon Musk's Boring Company after firefighters suffered serious chemical burns and permanent scarring at Musk's Vegas site.

Nevadans are seeing a wave of coverage about how Lombardo got the firefighters' complaints dismissed and even tried to bury the evidence - the latest proof that he will always put his own political ambitions over what's right for Nevada.

Here's what Nevadans are reading about Lombardo covering up for powerful billionaires at working Nevadans' expense:

Fortune: After Elon Musk's Boring Co. was cited for serious safety violations, the Nevada governor's office stepped in. Then someone deleted evidence of that meeting

• The record of the Governor's office meeting with Musk's company was removed from a public document without explanation. More irregularities in the case file occurred: Documents weren't saved to the file, and a document intended to provide reasoning for revoking the citations was left out.

• Four lawyers and former Nevada regulators, however, say this level of political involvement in an OSHA investigation is not only highly unusual, but goes against procedure.

• A worker's pelvis was crushed in September; a different employee was shocked by an electrical panel this summer; and the harsh chemicals that burned the firefighters, part of a toxic muck fluid that pools in the tunnels, remain an ever-present danger for Boring workers, according to five current and former employees at the Boring Company, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they feared retribution.

8 News Now: Report: Nevada governor drops safety charges against Elon Musk's tunneling startup

• The more than $400,000 in fines were dropped after Boring Co. President Steve Davis made a call to Joe Lombardo's office, resulting in a high-profile meeting with state officials, including the governor's state infrastructure coordinator.

• Four lawyers and former Nevada officials criticized Lombardo's involvement with the OSHA investigation, claiming it's highly unusual and "absolutely not appropriate" since it goes against procedure.

Las Vegas Sun: Fortune: Nevada Gov. Lombardo's office intervened to rescind $400K in safety fines against Musk's Boring Company

• After two Clark County firefighters suffered devastating chemical burns inside Elon Musk's Las Vegas tunnels, Nevada workplace-safety officials fined his Boring Company more than $400,000.

• But within hours of those citations, Gov. Joe Lombardo's office stepped in - and the penalties vanished, along with public records of the meeting that made them disappear, according to a report in Fortune this week.

• The firefighters, who were participating in a training exercise in December 2024, were permanently scarred after exposure to toxic chemicals in muck fluid that pools at the tunnel base.

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