520 Bridge Contractor: Investigation and Disciplinary Action in Motion After Allegations of Beers at Work

Kiewit/General/Manson, the contractor for the State Route 520 Floating Bridge project, is investigating the allegations of alcohol consumption at the Bellevue offices, and said that alcohol and drug use and possession is prohibited at company workplaces and vehicles.

Employees with Kiewit/General/Manson, also known as KGM, also can expect to get training on the company's alcohol policy and for disciplinary action to be taken against employees who have violated the policies, officials said.

The company issued the statement after a hidden-camera investigation by KOMO TV allegedly found several workers with Kiewit/General/Manson, also known as KGM, drinking on the job.

"We are taking this matter very seriously," said Kiewit spokesman Tom Janssen at a press conference Thursday evening.

Janssen said that the project's Bellevue offices, where the alleged drinking took place, did not involve any employees working on the design or construction of the floating bridge project and the project's safety was not compromised by this incident.

"WSDOT, the people of Washington and the traveling public can be confident in our work. We pride ourselves on being a quality contractor," he said.

"We're all disappointed in how this has been portrayed. We think of ourselves as a quality, safety-minded contractor and this does not represent that, so we're working hard to fix that," Janssen said.

KGM is the contractor for the 520 Floating Bridge Project and several other contracts related to. KGM's contract for the floating bridge project is $586.6 million.

The company does not expect any delay in the work caused by the alcohol use investigation or any alcohol awareness training, Janssen said.

Though KGM has a no-alcohol policy, disciplinary action is taken on a case-by-case basis, Janssen siad, Discipline in this case will be determined after the investigation is completed, he said.

The people in the Bellevue office are construction management who are involved in scheduling and coordinating the work and people in charge of financial matters, and are not in charge of design work, he said.

Early indications of the investigation are that alcohol was consumed at the office after work hours, which are from 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the KGM's Bellevue office, Janssen said.

About 50 people work in the Bellevue office, and about 500 people overall are working on the bridge project and related contracts, he said. More than 26,000 employees work for the company, which is based in Omaha, Nebraska.

Employees are drug tested upon employment and employees who use heavy equipment are randomly drug tested, Janssen said.

The company CEO, Bruce Grewcock, sent a letter to all 26,000 employees explaining the company policy on drugs and alcohol use in the workplace, and about the investigation. (A copy of the letter is at the bottom of this story.)

But the handling of the matter will not stop there, Janssen said.

"We're engineers, and though we're not saintly, the way that our guys think.... throwing a tirade doesn't fix anything. Finding out what caused it, that's what fixes problems," Janssen said.

Washington State Department of Transportation Secretary and that at this time, there is no evidence that Washington State Department of Transportation workers were among those involved.

An unidentified employee interviewed by KOMO told the television station that KGM workers drink "every day" at the project office located on 112th Avenue Northeast in Bellevue. State law requires employers to prohibit alcohol and narcotic drugs in the workplace.

The bridge replacement is part of an overall  that includes improvements throughout the SR 520 corridor. KGM was awarded a $586.6-million contract in 2011 to complete phase 1 of the bridge replacement.

Read more coverage on the State Route 520 Bridge construction on Bellevue Patch.

Letter from Kiewit CEO to employees:

To All Kiewit Employees,

This week a TV report was aired highlighting the behavior of individuals on our JV 520 Bridge project in Washington State.  This investigation report showed multiple people carrying cases of beer and drinking on the job site. These actions violate our company policy and Washington state law.   We take these issues extremely seriously.  We are currently conducting a thorough investigation of our operations to ensure that we have all of the facts.  Appropriate disciplinary action will be taken once this investigation is complete. 

I want to clearly reiterate our simple policy on this matter.  Kiewit prohibits the use, possession, distribution or being under the influence of alcohol or illegal drugs on our job sites, in our offices and in our vehicles — period.  Possession of alcohol or illegal drugs at/in any of our offices, worksites or vehicles may result in disciplinary action, including termination.  Furthermore, each employee is expected to help ensure that all other Kiewit employees conduct themselves in a similar manner.  The company’s compliance hotlines can be used for reporting any violations anonymously without fear of retaliation or adverse personnel action of any kind.

I’m asking all district managers to immediately conduct a close review of the practices at all of their projects and offices and re-emphasize our policy on this important issue.  

Remember, each of us is a representative of Kiewit. Our actions reflect upon our company. I know that most of you, on a daily basis, do an exemplary job of representing our company. But, as this issue has proven, we should never become lax in this responsibility. I have a great deal of faith in all of you to see that this kind of thing does not happen again.

Bruce Grewcock, CEO

Peter Kiewit Sons’, Inc.