Kentucky Labor Cabinet

Two state cabinets are appealing a judge’s order that they must reimburse the Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting for legal costs after…

The commissioner acknowledged that agency culture, a lack of accountability and staffing shortages had often led to shortcomings when investigating deaths on the job.

The judge ordered the Labor Cabinet to pay more than $16,000 in legal fees and an $800 penalty because it disregarded legal precedent when it redacted the name of an employee who was accused of sexual harassment.

House Bill 322 would restore the OSHA Standards Board and require it to meet more frequently.

Cabinet leaders said eliminating the Labor Cabinet would save money, streamline government and improve the functions of Kentucky’s Occupational Safety and Health agency, which has been under federal scrutiny since a critical audit released in August.

The acting Labor Secretary wrote in an op-ed published Tuesday in the Lexington newspaper that the “hard work of turning the program around is well underway.”

Newly released documents shed light on the process by which the Labor Cabinet investigated, and then closed, the sexual harassment allegation.

Before Hector Fonseca was accused of sexual harassment at work — a claim that an internal investigation did not substantiate — judges had twice issued protective orders against him for domestic violence allegations.

The judge said he's concerned about “a lax culture” of tolerating sexual harassment across state government — and that employees with multiple unsubstantiated complaints against them could escape scrutiny if the court allowed them anonymity.

The Kentucky Labor Cabinet has filed suit against the Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting to prevent releasing details about employees accused of sexual harassment -- the second state agency to sue KyCIR in the last month.