Carson campaign fined by labor commissioner

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) _ Labor Commissioner Brenda Reneau Wynn has issued a citation and civil penalty of $1,500 against U.S. Rep. Brad Carson's campaign for U.S. Senate for failing to have worker's

Saturday, August 28th 2004, 4:30 pm

By: News On 6

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) _ Labor Commissioner Brenda Reneau Wynn has issued a citation and civil penalty of $1,500 against U.S. Rep. Brad Carson's campaign for U.S. Senate for failing to have worker's compensation coverage for its employees.

Brad Luna, a Carson spokesman, said the campaign was unaware it needed to have worker's compensation insurance until their employment attorneys advised them of the fact ``in a routine conversation.''

The campaign purchased the insurance around Aug. 1, he said.

Carson, a Democrat, said he had only heard rumors that Reneau Wynn, a Republican, had issued a citation against his campaign.

``If we are fined, we will send the check overnight to take care of it,'' Carson said. ``The worker's comp is in place.''

Carson's campaign has been under investigation by Reneau Wynn's office following a July 8 traffic accident that killed a teenager who was working for a Democratic group that shared an office with Carson's campaign.

Oklahoma Democratic Party Chairman Jay Parmley has said he believes the investigation is politically motivated, but Reneau Wynn has said the investigation is routine and not about politics.