FORT VALLEY, GA – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited Pearson Farms LLC for safety violations after an employee suffered fatal injuries at the farm’s post-harvest operations facility in Fort Valley, Georgia. The farm is facing $128,004 in penalties.

DENVER, CO – The U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado has ordered Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway Company (BNSF) to pay $696,173 in lost back and future wages to a former employee who reported track defects, bringing the total paid to the whistleblower to more than $1.74 million.

CAMP HILL, PA – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited Cleveland Brothers Inc. – doing business as CB HYMAC – for exposing workers to hexavalent chromium fumes and other safety hazards at the company’s shop in Camp Hill, Pennsylvania. OSHA cited the company, which provides hydraulic service and repair, machining and chroming services, for one willful violation and 18 serious and two other-than-serious citations. The company faces $280,874 in penalties.

NAPLES, FL – After an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, Fort Myers Division, has sentenced Stalin Rene Barahona – former owner of the now-dissolved SB Framing Services Inc. in Naples, Florida – to 30 days in prison. Barahona pleaded guilty to one count of willfully violating federal fall protection standards. He will begin serving his sentence on Feb. 26, 2020.

CONCORD, NH – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited Quartz and Stone Creations of New Hampshire LLC for crushing and other hazards following an employee fatality on July 19, 2019. OSHA cited the Northwood, New Hampshire, stone products manufacturer for 12 serious and six other-than-serious violations, which faces a total of $87,516 in penalties.

HOOVER, AL – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited two Alabama contractors – OLA Inc. and Calloway Inc. – for exposing employees to excavation hazards after two workers suffered fatal injuries in a trench collapse on a residential project in Hoover, Alabama. The contractors face $88,482 in penalties.

DEARBORN HEIGHTS, MI – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has determined that the Dearborn Heights School District violated whistleblower statutes by unjustly disciplining, publicly discrediting and terminating an employee who reported unsafe working conditions to federal and state agencies.

AUGUSTA, ME – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) recently signed a two-year alliance with the Maine Department of Labor, Workplace Safety and Health Division (SafetyWorks!), and the Maine School of Masonry to promote worker safety in the masonry industry.

BALA CYNWYD, PA – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited Webb Contractor Corp. for exposing employees to fall hazards at three separate worksites in the Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania, area. The roofing contractor, based in Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania, faces $605,371 in penalties.

HAMILTON, OH – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited Midwest Ammunition LLC for 19 serious safety and health violations after one employee suffered a fatal injury, and another suffered serious injuries in a fire and explosion on July 22, 2019, at the Hamilton, Ohio, company. OSHA proposed penalties of $211,768.

ORLANDO, FL – In a settlement with the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), Shooting Gallery Range Inc. – a shooting range based in Orlando, Florida – has agreed to pay an employee $30,000 in back wages and compensatory damages. The settlement is reflected in a U.S. District Court consent judgment issued January 24, 2020.

DELAIR, NJ – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited Aluminum Shapes LLC for workplace safety and health hazards after a crane operator was injured in August 2019 at the aluminum manufacturer’s Delair, New Jersey, foundry. The company faces $169,524 in penalties for these violations.

HARMONY, PA – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited Metarko Excavating LLC for exposing employees to trenching hazards at a Cranberry Township, Pennsylvania, worksite. The company faces $59,311 in penalties.

GLENCOE, IL – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited Goose Lake Construction Inc. after an employee suffered serious injuries when an unprotected trench collapsed, burying him up to his waist at a Glencoe, Illinois, worksite. OSHA proposed penalties of $233,377.

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) will commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (OSH Act) with a yearlong celebration of past achievements, current efforts and future initiatives to protect the American workforce.

PHILADELPHIA, PA – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited Philadelphia Energy Solutions for serious violations of safety and health hazards related to process safety management (PSM) following a fire and subsequent explosions at the company’s Girard Point Refinery Complex in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in June 2019. The company faces $132,600 in penalties.

TOLEDO, OHIO – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited The Andersons Inc. for grain handling, and walking and working surfaces violations after two employees attempting to clear a clogged floor hole in a grain storage bin became fatally engulfed at the company’s Toledo, Ohio, facility. OSHA has proposed $291,716 in penalties.

ANDOVER, MA – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited Target Corp. for emergency exit access hazards at stores in Danvers and Framingham, Massachusetts. The national retailer faces a total of $227,304 in penalties.

TAYLOR, MS – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited Rhobina Electric Inc. – a commercial electrical and plumbing contractor based in Batesville, Mississippi – for exposing employees to excavation hazards after a worker suffered fatal injuries in a trench collapse at a Taylor, Mississippi, worksite. The contractor faces $37,318 in penalties.

FOSTORIA, OH – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited Nox U.S. LLC for exposing employees to machine hazards and failing to develop hazardous energy control procedures to prevent employees from coming into contact with moving machine parts. OSHA has proposed $316,929 in penalties, and placed the Fostoria, Ohio, vinyl floor manufacturer in the Severe Violator Enforcement Program.