Yuba County approved up to $200,000 to hire a legal team to fight the nearly $185,000 in Cal/OSHA citations issued last month after a deadly drug bust. Last week, the Yuba County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to allocate the money to hire Ogletree Deakins, a large employment law firm. “This agreement does not have a set end date as it is intended to cover a period of time that will allow us to navigate the Cal/OSHA matter. The amount of money specified in the agreement does not necessarily represent the amount of money we spend on services. It is an amount that was selected that gives us the flexibility to resolve this issue and not have to repeatedly go to the board for approval,” Tiffany said Manuel, Director of Human Resources and Risk Management. This follows the Cal/OSHA investigation into a drug trafficking operation in March involving Marysville police and the Yuba County Sheriff's Office in Olivehurst that ended in a shootout. Suspected drug dealer Rick Oliver and Marysville police officer Osmar Rodarte died. RELATED | A body camera captures the shooting that killed Osmar Rodarte. According to an investigation by the Yuba County District Attorney, Officer Rodarte had been a patrol officer for two years and had been on the Yuba-Sutter Regional SWAT Team for just five months. But before the citations were issued in September, the Yuba County Sheriff's Office took the matter to court. Back in July, the sheriff's office asked a judge for an opinion, hoping to block Cal/OSHA from obtaining “confidential personnel records” and to prevent regulators from questioning a lieutenant involved in the operation. The sheriff's office called Cal/OSHA's actions “unprecedented and…” unfounded. “Cal/OSHA has already conducted inspections with law enforcement for workplace violations, but regulators have not provided us with any additional examples of a case that specifically related to an officer-involved shooting. Cal/OSHA sent KCRA 3 Investigates the following statement: “Cal/OSHA has initiated additional inspections related to law enforcement incidents involving fatalities. Recently, an inspection opened in Oakland on July 18, 2025 after a parolee was fatally shot by a parole officer. Additionally, an inspection was opened on July 21, 2025 in Los Angeles following an explosion at a Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department training facility that resulted in the deaths of three deputies. Under California law, both private and public employers, including law enforcement agencies, required to report workplace deaths, including deaths resulting from a violation of the Criminal Code. Cal/OSHA is required to investigate the cause of such deaths and issue citations and civil penalties to employers found to have violated the law. A public search of the Federal OSHA database system shows that Cal/OSHA in the last five Over the years, the agency has conducted 145 inspections in the law enforcement industry (NAICS code 922120), including 46 at police stations and 60 at sheriff's departments. As previously noted, with the expansion of reporting requirements and implementation of the California Workplace Violence Prevention Act, effective July 1, 2024, Cal/OSHA now has broader access to information and authority to do so Evaluate and investigate these types of incidents. Cal/OSHA's role is different from that of law enforcement in criminal investigations; His agency focuses exclusively on safety and health conditions in the workplace and whether necessary safety measures were in place to protect employees. An employer's own investigation into the cause of a workplace death, even if that employer is a law enforcement agency, does not supersede that of law mandatory inspection by Cal/OSHA, the government agency with jurisdiction and expertise over California's occupational safety and health standards. Cal/OSHA respects and values the difficult and often dangerous work performed by law enforcement officers. The purpose of every Cal/OSHA investigation is to prevent future tragedies by identifying hazards and ensuring that all employers, including public Positions maintain safe and healthy working conditions for their employees. “Ultimately, a judge may have to decide the matter. The next court hearing on the case between the Yuba County Sheriff's Office and Cal/OSHA is scheduled for November 17. Find more coverage of California's top stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel
Yuba County approved up to $200,000 to hire a legal team to fight the nearly $185,000 in Cal/OSHA citations issued last month after a deadly drug bust.
Last week, the Yuba County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to allocate the money to hire Ogletree Deakins, a large employment law firm.
“This agreement does not have a set end date as it is intended to cover a period of time that will allow us to address the Cal/OSHA matter. The amount of money in the agreement is not necessarily the amount of money we will spend on services. It is an amount that was selected to give us the flexibility to work through this matter and not repeatedly come back to the board for approval,” said Tiffany Manuel, Director of Human Resources and Risk Management.
This stems from the Cal/OSHA investigation of a drug trafficking operation in March involving Marysville police and the Yuba County Sheriff's Office in Olivehurst that ended in a shootout.
Suspected drug dealer Rick Oliver and Marysville police officer Osmar Rodarte died.
RELATED | Body camera captures shooting that killed Osmar Rodarte
According to an investigation by the Yuba County District Attorney, Officer Rodarte had been a patrol officer for two years and was on the Yuba-Sutter Regional SWAT Team for just five months.
Cal/OSHA found that the Marysville Police Department and the Yuba County Sheriff's Office failed to provide employees with adequate training and protective equipment, resulting in fines against both departments.
Marysville and Yuba County are now appealing these hefty citations.
But before the citations were issued in September, the Yuba County Sheriff's Office took the matter to court.
Back in July, the sheriff's office asked a judge for an opinion, hoping to block Cal/OSHA from obtaining “confidential personnel records” and to prevent regulators from questioning a lieutenant involved in the operation.
The sheriff's office called Cal/OSHA's actions “unprecedented and unfounded.”
Cal/OSHA has previously conducted workplace violation inspections with law enforcement agencies, but regulators have not provided us with any additional examples of a case specifically involving an officer-involved shooting.
Cal/OSHA provided the following statement to KCRA 3 Investigates:
“Cal/OSHA has initiated additional inspections related to law enforcement fatal incidents.
Recently, an inspection opened in Oakland on July 18, 2025 after a parolee was fatally shot by a parole officer. Additionally, an inspection was initiated in Los Angeles on July 21, 2025 following an explosion at a Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department training facility that killed three officers.
California law requires both private and public employers, including law enforcement agencies, to report workplace deaths, including deaths resulting from a violation of the Penal Code.
Cal/OSHA is required to investigate the cause of such deaths and issue citations and civil penalties to employers found to have violated the law. A public search of the federal OSHA database system shows that Cal/OSHA has conducted 145 inspections in the law enforcement industry (NAICS code 922120) over the past five years, including 46 at police stations and 60 at sheriff's departments.
As noted, with the expansion of reporting requirements and implementation of California's Workplace Violence Prevention Act, effective July 1, 2024, Cal/OSHA now has broader access to information and authority to evaluate and investigate these types of incidents.
Cal/OSHA's role is different than that of law enforcement or prosecutorial investigations; His agency focuses exclusively on safety and health conditions in the workplace and whether necessary safety measures were in place to protect employees. An employer's own investigation into the cause of a workplace death, even if that employer is a law enforcement agency, is not a substitute for the statutory investigation by Cal/OSHA, the government agency with jurisdiction and expertise over California's occupational safety and health standards.
Cal/OSHA respects and values the difficult and often dangerous work of law enforcement officers. The purpose of every Cal/OSHA investigation is to prevent future tragedies by identifying hazards and ensuring that all employers, including public entities, maintain safe and healthy working conditions for their employees.”
Ultimately, a judge may have to decide the matter. The next court hearing in the case between the Yuba County Sheriff's Office and Cal/OSHA is scheduled for November 17.
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