WACO, Texas – Federal inspectors found that the nation’s largest chicken producer failed to use proper safety procedures that allowed a release of 79 pounds of anhydrous ammonia and endangered workers at its Waco facility on Sept. 28, 2015. Anhydrous ammonia is a dangerous chemical that can be fatal when inhaled and cause serious burns to the skin.

Employer name: 929 Restaurant Corp., doing business as Clairmont Diner

Investigation site: 929 Yonkers Ave., Yonkers, New York

Investigation findings: An investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division found that the Clairmont Diner violated the minimum wage, overtime and recordkeeping requirements of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act. Investigators found the employer  

Expansion: Former Battelle Laboratories employees who worked at the King Avenue site in Columbus, Ohio, may qualify for a presumption of causation if they are included in a designated Special Exposure Cohort class of employees, and have a diagnosis of one of 22 specified cancers.

WASHINGTON – U.S. Department of Labor Secretary Thomas E. Perez issued the following statement on today’s ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court in Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association

“Today’s Supreme Court ruling is an important victory for public employees, for their right to have a voice at work, for their right to stand together and speak up for the things that matter to them, their families and their communities.

Employer name: Quality Christmas Tree Ltd., doing business as Houston Garden Center

Location: 1700 West Loop North, Houston, Texas 77008

Citations issued: March 28, 2016

GRAPEVINE, Texas – Assistant Secretary of Labor for Mine Safety and Health Joseph A. Main announced the agency’s plan to curb mining deaths in one of the year’s deadliest months. The announcement came at the 34^th Annual South Central Joint Mine Health & Safety Conference in Grapevine.

BEAVER, Pa. – Twenty-one-year-old Jacob Casher was still a “new guy” employed by a Beaver-based plumbing company when he left home for work in September 2015. He probably never imagined that, as he worked to install a sewer line 11-feet underground in Butler, it was to be the last day of his life.

SYRCAUSE, N.Y. – Even vinegar can be hazardous under certain circumstances.

An employee at the Rob Salamida Co. food manufacturing plant in Johnson City was instructed to enter and clean the insides of a 3,000-gallon tank containing vinegar on Sept. 28, 2015. Once inside, he was overcome by acetic acid vapors created by the vinegar in the tank. He was rescued but was hospitalized for five days. 

Employer name: Eastern Wire Products Inc.

Investigation site: 5301 West Fifth St., Jacksonville, Florida 32254

Date of action: Jan. 11, 2016

Type of action: Stipulated Settlement

Names of defendants: Anheuser-Busch Sales of New Jersey LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Anheuser-Busch Inbev SA/NV.

GLIDDEN, Wis. ‒ A Wisconsin wood décor and floral supplier exposed workers to toxic levels of chemicals in adhesives and paints because, federal inspectors determined, the workplace lacked adequate engineering controls needed to reduce harmful vapors.

On March 24, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration cited Winter Woods Inc. for 10 serious safety violations based on the findings of its Oct. 15, 2015, investigation.

Employers name: Landfried Paving Inc., 172 Crestview Drive, Greenville, Pennsylvania

Inspection site: 200 Mulberry St., Meadville, Pennsylvania  

Citations issued: On March 22, 2016, the  U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued citations for one willful violation and two serious violations. 

Date of action: Feb. 18, 2016

Type of action: Order granting Wage and Hour Division’s motion for summary decision

Names of defendant: Overdevest Nurseries LP, wholesale grower of plants, shrubs, trees and flower

NIAGARA, Wis. – For the sixth time since 2011, federal inspectors found a Wisconsin wood pallet manufacturer failed to comply with safety and health standards – putting its employees in jeopardy of suffering amputation, burns and other life-threatening injuries.

KENNETT, Mo. ‒ A machine that sizes and cuts rubber hose severed a 52-year-old woman’s right arm just nine days after she starting a new job in Kennett as a machine operator at Parker Hannifin Corporation, a global manufacturer in the mobile, industrial and aerospace markets. After an investigation, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration determined the machine lacked adequate safety guards to prevent the horrific injury.

NEW YORK – The U.S. Department of Labor has reached a settlement agreement with Dover Greens LLC, formerly known as Olivet Management LLC, which commits the real estate development and management company to provide and maintain enhanced safeguards for workers renovating the former Harlem Valley Psychiatric Center in Dover Plains. 

HOBBS, N.M. – Nova Mud Inc., Nova Hardbanding LLC and Nova Sand LLC have paid $1.5 million – $750,000 in back wages and an additional, equal amount in liquidated damages – to 241 oil well service workers after an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division. All three commonly owned and operated businesses violated overtime and recordkeeping provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act.

ORANGE CITY, Fla. – Had their employer inspected an aerial lift properly, it might not have malfunctioned and surged forward, crushing one worker to death and severely injuring another as they removed rain gutters at a local car dealership on Sept. 30, 2015, investigators from the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration have determined.