January 17, 2017

OSHA proposes nearly $89K penalty after finding concrete manufacturer again exposed workers to airborne silica

Employer name: County Concrete Corp.                                 

Inspection site: 64 Glenwood Pl.
East Orange, New Jersey

Citations issued: On Jan. 4, 2017, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued citations for one repeat and two failure-to-abate violations.

January 17, 2017

OSHA: Employee’s death at Bellingham auto parts business ‘preventable’

BRAINTREE, Mass. – A Bellingham used auto parts business’ failure to follow required workplace safety standards allowed an employee to suffer fatal head injuries, an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has found.

January 13, 2017

Oklahoma truck bed manufacturer fined $535K for putting workers at risk, as OSHA inspectors identify 30 safety, health violations

KINGSTON, Okla. – A complaint of unsafe working conditions led U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration inspectors to discover the safety and health of employees at a well-known Oklahoma truck bed fabricator being placed at risk amid nearly two dozen safety and health violations.

OSHA’s investigation at BigTex Trailer Manufacturing Inc., which does business as CM Truck Beds, found 20 serious violations, one willful and three repeated violations – prompting the agency to propose $535,411 in fines. 

January 13, 2017

OSHA, Rocky Mountain Education Center renew alliance to support worker safety education throughout Colorado

Participants: The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s Denver and Englewood Area Offices and the Rocky Mountain Education Center located at Red Rocks Community College in Lakewood, Colorado.

January 12, 2017

OSHA cites Sioux Falls company after 40-year-old equipment operator suffers serious injuries in trench cave-in at Brandon work site

Employer name: Kempf Construction Inc.
Sioux Falls, South Dakota

Citations issued: Jan. 9, 2017

January 12, 2017

Masonry contractor continues to expose workers to fall hazards

CHICAGO, Ill. ‒ Federal safety inspectors saw seven employees of a Park Ridge contractor performing masonry work on a Chicago building at heights up to 40 feet without adequate fall protection and have issued citations to the company. The company committed similar violations in 2011, 2012, 2014 and 2015.

January 10, 2017

US Department of Labor sues Jasper Roofing Contractors, CEO for retaliation after employee cooperates with OSHA investigation

TAMPA, Fla. – The U.S. Department of Labor has filed a lawsuit against Jasper Roofing Contractors Inc. and its owner/chief executive officer, Brian Wedding, for terminating their safety manager after he cooperated with a safety and health inspection by the department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

The suit results from an investigation by OSHA’s Whistleblower Protection Program.

January 9, 2017

OSHA cites New York contractor for exposing workers to excavation hazards at high school construction site

VERONA, N.J. – Acting on a complaint in June 2016, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration found employees of one of the area’s largest general contractors working in an unprotected 10-foot deep excavation at a suburban New Jersey high school, in violation of federal safety and health laws.

January 9, 2017

OSHA finds workers exposed to multiple fall hazards while roofing Winnetka home

Employer name: Redhawk Roofing Inc.
Libertyville, Illinois 60048

Inspection site: 865 Gordon Terrace
Winnetka, Illinois 60093

Citations issued: Dec. 16, 2016

January 6, 2017

US Department of Labor issues final rule to lower beryllium levels, increase workplace protections to reduce health risks

WASHINGTON – A new rule issued today by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration dramatically lowers workplace exposure to beryllium, a strategically important material that can cause devastating lung diseases. The new beryllium standards for general industry, construction and shipyards will require employers to take additional, practical measures to protect an estimated 62,000 workers from these serious risks.

January 5, 2017

Atlanta-based paper, plastic recycler exposes workers to fire, explosion, machine guarding hazards; OSHA proposes $133K in penalties

Employer name: Nemo Plastics Inc.

Inspection site: 1425 Candler Road
Gainesville, Georgia 30507

Citations issued: The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued citations to Nemo Plastics for 21 serious and three other-than-serious safety and health violations. The inspection was initiated after the agency received a complaint.

January 5, 2017

US Labor Department sues food manufacturer, owner that terminated employee who tried to call 911 after co-worker suffered amputation

FAIRMONT, W.Va. – When a co-worker severed part of his thumb in July 2014, a food processor at a beef jerky manufacturing plant acted quickly, helping him apply pressure to the wound and using her cellphone to call 911. Before responders could answer, the company’s owner ordered her to hang up. Two days later, she was terminated.

January 4, 2017

OSHA finds Illinois contractor, Robert Barringer III exposes roofers to potentially deadly fall hazards

BELLEVILLE, Ill. ‒ Federal investigators proposed penalties of $214,782 to an Illinois roofing contractor after a recent inspection at a home construction site in Troy found workers exposed to fall hazards. Statistics show falls cause four of every 10 deaths in the construction industry.

January 3, 2017

OSHA investigation of Jersey City Medical Center worker’s fatal fall finds facility exposed employees to dangerous electrical hazards

Employer name: Jersey City Medical Center RWJ Barnabas Health

Inspection site: 355 Grand St.
Jersey City, New Jersey

Citations issued: On Dec. 21, 2016, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued citations to the medical center for one willful and four serious safety violations.

January 3, 2017

Chicago metal container manufacturer faces more than $81K in OSHA penalties after 3rd worker suffers amputation injury

CHICAGO – For the third time since the summer of 2015, a worker with a metal container manufacturer has suffered an amputation injury. In each incident, federal safety investigators found that, if the employer had complied with workplace safety standards, the injuries were preventable.

On Dec. 27, 2016, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued

January 3, 2017

OSHA finds Wisconsin medical clinic exposed workers to asbestos hazards

MONROE, Wis. – Federal investigators found a local medical clinic failed to tell maintenance workers they were being exposed to hazardous asbestos material – which the company identified in 2008 – and did not provide workers with protective equipment.

December 28, 2016

OSHA cites lumber company for inadequate machine guards after worker suffers injury while setting up molding machine

MARATHON, Wis. –Federal safety inspectors found multiple woodworking machines at a Wisconsin lumber company lacked adequate safeguards and that workers were not properly trained in isolating energy to machines to prevent contact with operating parts during set-up, servicing and maintenance.

December 28, 2016

OSHA cites plastics manufacturer after second worker suffers severe injury in less than 18 months at Ohio plant

NEW PHILADELPHIA, Ohio – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has proposed penalties of $274,934 to a New Philadelphia plastics manufacturer after its investigation of a second debilitating injury suffered by an employee in less than 18 months.

December 28, 2016

OSHA finds global railroad company retaliated against worker who reported safety concerns about track defects

DENVER – An investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has found that BNSF Railway Company violated federal law when it terminated a track inspector for insubordination after the employee reported railroad track defects to management.

December 27, 2016

United Airlines agrees to remove hazards faced by baggage-handlers in precedent-setting US Labor Department settlement

NEWARK, N.J. — For too long, a hard day's work for United Airlines' baggage handlers at Newark Liberty International Airport meant unnecessary pain and the risk of debilitating injuries caused by lifting customer baggage using awkward postures. From 2011 to January 2015, the airline's baggage handlers reported at least 622 musculoskeletal injuries.