Posted on 10/11/24
| News Source: WBAL TV
Baltimore, MD - Oct. 11, 2024 - Baltimore City officials have received -- but will not yet release -- a much-anticipated report from a law firm that reviewed heat safety protocol and culture issues at the Department of Public Works, 11 News Investigates has learned.
DPW Director Khalil Zaied exclusively told 11 News Investigates on Wednesday, after he was officially sworn in as the 17th director of the city agency, that Washington, D.C., law firm Conn Maciel Carey LLP delivered its report to the city on Monday.
Zaied said the city intends to make the report public, but he couldn't say when.
"I am not really sure about that," Zaied told 11 News Investigates. "The intent at this point is to make it public."
When asked why, Zaied told 11 News Investigates: "We need to debrief the mayor on the report," as well as City Council members and the local AFSCME union.
"The mayor's office said that they wanted to run it by community stakeholders before they published it," Zaied told 11 News Investigates. "We're committed to have the union, engaging the union with it ... We're committed to engaging the union with it."
Zaied declined to describe specific findings or conclusions in the report, saying only: "It's an indication of certain deficiencies that we have within the department. It looks at them, identifies them, and at the same time makes some recommendations."
"We're looking at the timing, and that report will be out, and we'll be ready to discuss every aspect of it when it's out," Zaied said.
It has been a summer of turmoil for the city agency. The Baltimore City Office of the Inspector General issued multiple reports in July, calling on the city to take immediate action to address unsafe working conditions for some DPW workers during a heat wave.
| LINK: Read the OIG's report (PDF)
In August, DPW sanitation worker Ronald Silver II died while on the job. The medical examiner ruled Silver's death was accidental, caused by hyperthermia brought on my overheating.
There are two other investigations into Silver's death underway by a state agency and Baltimore police, and Silver's family continues to demand answers from city officials about what protocol was in place to protect employees like him, and what went wrong the day he died.
Soon after, city leaders announced the D.C. law firm was hired to review the department's policies and procedures.
DPW Deputy Director Richard Luna left the agency in October, 11 News Investigates first reported.
At a City Council meeting held in August, Councilman Zeke Cohen, D-District 1, asked whether it was possible to reconsider having Conn Maciel Carey LLP review the DPW's safety policies, practices and procedures, specifically pertaining to heat safety.
"This is a firm that represents companies largely trying to push back on (the Occupational Safety and Health Administration) and, from what I can read, weaken heat standards," Cohen said in August.
In a statement to 11 News Investigates, a spokesman for Mayor Brandon Scott wrote:
"Conn Maciel Carey LLP, the independent firm engaged to assess the Department of Public Works' operational standards and procedures around heat safety in an effort to provide recommendations to the city, has completed its review. The firm has provided extremely helpful insights and recommendations, but we must ensure all stakeholders are engaged in the proper course to review and assess their recommendations.
"The mayor has made clear that he will not accept anything less than a heat safety plan for DPW that goes beyond what is simply required by the new Maryland standard, and solidifies Baltimore City as a leader in heat safety among municipal sanitation collection agencies – and we expect the ultimate outcome of this work will result in that.
"This marks a pivotal moment to advance workplace safety for the city of Baltimore's frontline workers. We recognize the importance of this undertaking and will provide a full update to the public once our new processes are finalized and in place."
DPW employee Stancil McNair was vocal throughout the summer about what he said were unacceptable working conditions at the city agency. Now, McNair said things have changed for the better since Zaied took a hands-on approach after Silver's death.
"He's actually the first director that's been very engaging, and I'm talking about on a personal level," McNair told 11 News Investigates. "He needs help from the rest of the administration. He can't do it by himself."
Baltimore City Inspector General Isabel Cumming echoed McNair's praise, telling 11 News Investigates that Zaied "keeps proving that he is very cares very much about the workers at DPW and is truly trying to make changes."
Cumming revealed she has not yet seen the law firm's report and said she understands that some redactions may be necessary, but she also emphasized that the key moving forward for DPW and the city is transparency and accountability.
"I would imagine this report has issues about accountability and oversight and the lack of some of that," Cumming told 11 News Investigates. "So, (the report) would need to be, at some point, released to the public because taxpayer dollars paid for this report."
Cumming told 11 News Investigates that her biggest report to date on DPW issues will be released in the coming months.
Cohen, who could become the next City Council president in November, said on Thursday that he has not yet seen the report -- almost 48 hours after he asked for it.
"We should never, ever be in a situation where someone dies because of the weather," Cohen told 11 News Investigates.
Asked whether he would commit to holding more hearings on DPW if he's elected City Council president, Cohen told 11 News Investigates: "This is an issue that we are going to stay on top of because, for me, it's deeply personal."
Cohen said it's personal for him because of stories he has heard from Councilman Tony Glover, D-District 13, who worked at DPW for years.