Giorgio
The state Public Employees Safety and Health (PESH) Bureau issued a violation to the Town of Oyster Bay for failing to report on a timely basis a fatality following the Dec. 13, 2017 death of CSEA member Stephen Giorgio III.
On Oct. 30, 2017, Giorgio, 63, was driving a town bus. While the bus had been stopped, a woman who was standing outside the vehicle was barred from boarding the bus because she was behaving in what witnesses called a violent, aggressive manner.
The woman threatened Giorgio, who had locked the bus to keep her out. She also attacked the bus with a knife, damaging the bus radiator. Police soon arrived and arrested the woman.
Several hours later, Giorgio, who had appeared to be shaken from the incident, became ill and was admitted to a local hospital, where he passed away on Dec. 13, 2017.
Because the circumstances of the incident were believed to have led to Giorgio’s illness, his death is being treated as an occupational fatality.
PESH is citing the Town of Oyster Bay because the state law states that any “employment accident resulting in a fatality or hospitalization of employees was not made within eight hours” of the death or incident. Because
Giorgio’s death was not reported to PESH until Jan. 19, 2018, the bureau determined the town was in violation of that part of the statute.
The investigation showed that the town was in compliance with other PESH safety and training standards. Town officials must correct the violation by July 3.
“It’s a tragedy that we lost our union brother and dear friend, Stephen Giorgio,” Town of Oyster Bay Local President Jarvis Brown said. “He will be missed by all who knew him. This is why it’s so important that we maintain a strong health and safety committee in the workforce and to hold management accountable to our state’s safety and health standards.”
