Auto-parts chain fined by state

An auto-parts chain that plans to build a store in Tucumcari was fined by the state after being accused failing to follow public health regulations at its Santa Fe location.

The New Mexico Environment Department entered into a settlement agreement on Jan. 4 with O’Reilly Auto Parts for alleged violations of the state’s public health order and the Occupational Health and Safety Act that resulted in an unsafe workplace at its Santa Fe store.

Under the agreement, O’Reilly Auto Parts will pay $79,200 in penalties by Feb. 1. Any penalties collected will go to the state general fund, the primary state fund from which the ongoing expenses of state government are paid.

The state agency inspected the O’Reilly Auto Parts store at 4715 Airport Road in Santa Fe on July 4 in response to citizen complaints, according to a news release last week.

During the inspection, the NMED observed management did not require employees to wear face coverings — a violation of state law, public health orders and COVID-safe practices — and possibly exposing staff and customers to COVID-19.

The store also was cited for failing to post signs requiring customers to wear face coverings while in the store, also endangering employees.

“Failure by employers to protect staff from COVID-19 — a known workplace hazard — is unacceptable,” Environment Secretary James Kenney stated. “Employers must take their worker protection responsibility seriously, or they will face robust enforcement action by the State of New Mexico.”

During subsequent inspections on July 6, NMED saw that store management corrected the violations, as employees wore face coverings.

A 7,200-square-foot O’Reilly Auto Parts store No. 5437 is slated at 1316 E. Tucumcari Blvd. In Tucumcari, site of the now-abandoned Cactus RV Park that eventually will be demolished. A construction manager at the chain said in August the Tucumcari store would open in mid-2021 at the earliest.

O’Reilly’s initially filed a business license with the city in early 2019 but the project has been delayed several times by the COVID-19 pandemic and a difficulty in finding construction contractors.

According to O’Reilly’s corporate website, it awarded a construction contract to GM Northrup Corp., a Minnesota-based firm, to build the Tucumcari store.

An associate at GM Northrup’s office said the firm’s construction plan is under review by city officials.

The Cactus RV Park is the site of the long-closed Cactus Motor Lodge built in the 1930s. It once was listed in the Negro Motorist Green Book, an annual publication that compiled businesses friendly to African Americans during the Jim Crow era.

At least three other Green Book sites still exist in Tucumcari.

The Negro Motorist Green Book has received more attention in recent years because of the 2018 film “Green Book,” which won Best Picture at the Academy Awards, and a book by Candacy Taylor, “Overground Railroad: The Green Book and the Roots of Black Travel in America,” published last year.

The Cactus also is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, though the designation offers little protection.

O’Reilly Auto Parts, founded in 1957, operates more than 5,000 stores in 47 states, including several in the Texas Panhandle. The next-closest store in New Mexico sits in Clovis or Las Vegas.

The state’s Occupational Health and Safety Bureau has conducted more than 25,000 rapid responses to help businesses take appropriate action when employees test positive.

NMED also is investigating more than 200 workplace safety complaints related to COVID-19 and 14 workplace-related COVID-19 deaths.