Pahrump Valley Winery fined $8,501 by OSHA

The Pahrump Valley Winery was fined by the state of Nevada for its recent hosting of a “Make America Great Again” event that featured Eric Trump, son of President Donald Trump, which drew dozens to the outdoor affair.

Nevada Wine Cellars, Inc., doing business in Pahrump as Pahrump Valley Winery, was fined $8,501 by the Nevada Occupational Health & Safety Administration for violating health and safety guidelines in place to contain the spread of COVID-19, the Division of Industrial Relations acknowledged in its enforcement for the week of Sept. 28-Oct. 2.

In a related violation, LMG Las Vegas was fined $6,073 because employees worked at an event at which the 50-person limit of attendees was exceeded, social distancing among attendees was not maintained and face coverings were not being worn by all attendees. LMG handled the audio-visual equipment at the event, according to Teri Williams, public information officer for the Nevada Department of Business and Industry.

Eric Trump stopped at the winery for the Sept. 24 event to stump for his father’s campaign. He also made a stop in Las Vegas before heading out to Nye County. Other speakers in the lineup included Nevada Congressional District 4 Republican nominee Jim Marchant.

This isn’t the first time companies hosting an event for the Trump campaign have seen violations for hosting events that broke statewide health restrictions on gatherings, which were recently relaxed. During the Sept. 24 event at the winery, the 50-person maximum for gatherings was still in force under Gov. Steve Sisolak’s mandates.

At another event in Henderson, Nevada in September, an area company was also assessed a fine of $3,000.

President Trump had stopped in the Las Vegas Valley for a campaign rally. One of those stops was at Xtreme Manufacturing, where he drew a crowd of 5,000, the campaign told the Las Vegas Review-Journal in a Sept. 14 report. The facility, later fined $3,000 by the city of Henderson for multiple violations of Nevada’s health directives, is owned by Trump friend Don Ahern.

Trump made stops in Northern and Southern Nevada in mid-September.

Just following the pair of events, Sisolak released a statement.

“As governor, I have worked with public health and infectious disease specialists to create emergency directives to protect public health and get our economy back on track,” Sisolak said in the statement. “That means limiting gathering sizes, mandating face coverings and practicing social distancing. All of which the president recklessly disregarded for his own gain this weekend in Nevada.”

Contact Interim Editor Jeffrey Meehan @ jmeehan@pvtimes.com or on Twitter @pvtimes