WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Assistant Secretary for Occupational Safety and Health, Doug Parker, has issued the following statement in regard to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ release of its 2023 Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries on Dec. 19, 2024:

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and Amazon have entered into a corporate-wide settlement to help better protect employees from hazardous working conditions leading to serious lower back and other musculoskeletal disorders at Amazon facilities. The settlement agreement resolves the department’s multiple ergonomics cases against Amazon.com Services LLC, in the first major multi-site investigation brought by OSHA in over a decade. 

DES PLAINES, IL – The U.S. Department of Labor has cited a solar panel and battery storage company with two repeat safety violations after federal investigators found the company exposed workers to deadly fall hazards twice within three months. 

MANNS HARBOR, NC – A Maryland-based construction contractor could have prevented a 47-year-old diver from suffering fatal injuries during an underwater dive test in June 2024 at the Manns Harbor Bridge on Croatan Sound. 

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced the release of comprehensive data collected by its Occupational Safety and Health Administration on more than 890,000 workplace injuries and illnesses at more than 91,000 workplaces in calendar year 2023, including incident level details on the conditions and circumstances of injury and illness events. 

ATLANTA – A U.S. Department of Labor investigation has found a Marietta tree trimming contractor could have prevented the fatal injuries of a 38-year-old worker whose equipment came into contact with an unprotected power line less than 10 feet away from an Acworth worksite.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor announced that its Occupational Safety and Health Administration has finalized a revision to the personal protective equipment standard for construction. The final rule explicitly requires the equipment to properly fit any construction worker who needs it, improving protections from hazardous conditions.

HAGATNA, GUAM – The U.S. Department of Labor has ordered Asia Pacific Airlines to pay more than $2 million in wages, damages and attorney’s fees to an employee reprimanded, suspended and later fired for raising aircraft safety concerns and refusing to fly a cargo plane that they believed had an unreliable engine.

NEWARK, NJ – Federal workplace safety officials have again cited a Newark construction contractor for repeatedly violating U.S. Department of Labor safety requirements at three North Jersey worksites, exposing employees to falls from elevations, the construction industry’s leading cause of death and serious injuries. 

ATALLA, AL – A follow-up inspection by the U.S. Department of Labor at an Atalla meat processing and packing facility in July 2024 found the company failing to correct safety hazards identified in two inspections dating back to 2022, continuing to endanger workers.

CLEVELAND – U.S. Department of Labor inspectors found a Cleveland bakeware manufacturer failed to prevent two workers from suffering injuries that resulted in amputations, incidents that could have been avoided with proper safety measures. 

CHARLEROI, PA - The U.S. Department of Labor has filed suit against the U.S. Postal Service and two of its managers for wrongly terminating a contracted employee who raised safety concerns about loading dock equipment at the Charleroi Post Office.

JACKSONVILLE, FL – In one week, U.S. Department of Labor safety inspectors found two contractors working in Jacksonville and Daytona Beach willfully exposing employees to one of the construction industry’s deadliest hazards: trench and excavation collapses and cave-ins. 

FORT WORTH, TX – A U.S. Department of Labor investigation revealed that proper workplace safety training and correct storage of pallets taller than 16 feet could have prevented the fatal injuries suffered by a forklift operator at a tire distribution center in Elm Mott.

LAKE ZURICH, IL – For the eighth time since 2020, federal workplace safety inspectors have cited a Lake Zurich roofing contractor for exposing workers to falls from elevation, the leading cause of fatal and serious injuries among people employed in the construction industry.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced that its Occupational Safety and Health Administration has extended the public comment period for its proposed rule to protect workers from extreme heat exposure in indoor and outdoor workplaces to remain open until Jan. 14, 2025.

 PORTSMOUTH, OH – Once again, the U.S. Department of Labor has cited a Portsmouth hardwood floor manufacturer with a long history of federal safety violations after the company reported a 23-year-old worker suffered a partial arm amputation while troubleshooting a rip saw machine at the manufacturer’s Charles Street facility.

BAY SAINT LOUIS, MS – The U.S. Department of Labor has entered into a settlement agreement with a Mississippi steel pipe manufacturer with a long history of safety failures to correct recent conditions that led to a 25-year-old employee’s fatal injuries in January 2024 in Bay Saint Louis.

MAPLE HEIGHTS, OH ‒ An Ohio outpatient mental health treatment facility has taken numerous steps to improve workplace safety, including employing a weapons screening process, enhancing security and implementing staff training, after a patient attacked a nurse practitioner violently in April 2024. 

Date of action:           

Nov. 20, 2024

Type of action:           

Petition to enforce subpoena 

Employer:                  

U.S. Postal Service, New Salem, Pennsylvania