HOUSTON — Despite his request for a safety harness, a temporary worker without fall protection on a roof later fell 12 feet through the roof. His fall resulted in his hospitalization with fractured arms and severe contusions.

The employer, Cotton Commercial USA Inc. in Katy, Texas, waited three days to report the injury, an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration found. Federal law requires employers to report such incidents within 24 hours.

HOUSTON — One minute he was working in the 8-foot trench below ground. The next, he was being buried in it. His co-workers came to his rescue, digging him out with their bare hands. Moments after they pulled the injured man to safety, the unprotected trench collapsed again. His injuries were serious and led to his hospitalization.

The man's Houston-area employer, Hassell Construction Co. Inc. knew the Richmond, Texas excavation site was dangerous, but failed to protect its workers.

Employer name: Durand-Wayland Inc.

Inspection site: 101 Durand Road, LaGrange, Georgia 30241

Date citations issued: The Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued citations to the employer on July 21, 2015. The inspection was initiated on Jan. 29, 2015, after the agency received a complaint.

Employer's name: The investigation was conducted at Franklin Fibre-Lamitex Corp., doing business as Franklin Fibre. The precision parts manufacturer is located at 903 East 13th Street in Wilmington, Delaware.

ARCADIA, Wis. — A 56-year-old employee of furniture manufacturer Ashley Furniture Industries Inc. had his right ring finger amputated because the company has continued to ignore safety requirements to protect workers from moving machine parts. The company also failed to report the injury to the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration, as required.

Employer name: Metallurgical Processing Inc.

Investigation site: 50 — 58 Arthur St., New Britain, Conn. 06053

Investigation findings: The Hartford Area Office of the Labor Department's Occupational Safety and Health Administration began inspections on Jan. 15, 2015, in response to employee complaints. The inspections found employees of the company, which performs heat treatment on metal parts, were exposed to a variety of fire, explosion, chemical and mechanical hazards.

Employer name: Transformers Construction Services Inc. and Buildtronix LLC, owned by Leanna Richardson.

Inspection sites: 25 Molasses Court, St. Johns, Florida 32259 and 65 Morning Star Way, Ponte Vedra, Florida 32081

Date citations issued: The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued the employer citations on June 26.

ELK GROVE VILLAGE, Ill. — A 25-ton power press crushed a temporary worker's right ring finger when the machine she operated cycled through while her hand was inside. The incident, at a steel parts manufacturing plant in Elk Grove Village, occurred when light curtains that act as machine guards failed to work properly. The woman suffered the injury after just 10 days at Topy Precision Manufacturing Inc.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — A storage tank manufacturer exposed workers to hazardous levels of hexavalent chromium and potentially deafening noise as they welded and grinded stainless steel and other alloy steels. At high levels, hexavalent chromium can cause lung cancer and respiratory, eye and skin damage.

MIDDLEFIELD, Ohio — A teenage worker's life was altered forever when his employer allowed him to operate machinery illegally and the 14-year-old lost his hand in the process.

Shady Knob Pallet Co. of Middlefield received citations from the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration on July 7. The citations followed an inspection that found the young man suffered the injury when he touched the operating parts of a wood planer while manufacturing pallets on March 31.

Employer name: Gate Precast Co. and Trueblue Inc., doing business as Labor Ready

Site: Shenandoah, Texas

Date citations issued: The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration cited the employers on July 16, for exposing workers to fall hazards at a construction site.

DALLAS — A local steel fabricator continues to put its workers in harm's way, despite its awareness of hazards at its Farmers Branch facility, and a recent federal inspection that found more than a dozen safety violations.

Participants: The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration renewed a two-year alliance July 16, with the South Louisiana Service, Transmission, Exploration and Production Safety Network.

When and Where: July 16 at Safety Management Systems, Lafayette, LA.

NEW PHILADELPHIA, Ohio — A hydraulic press crushed a 62-year-old machine operator's left hand at a seal and gasket manufacturer, resulting in multiple broken bones. The injured worker, a 15-year employee, has been unable to return to work and has endured three surgeries as a result.

SEATTLE — The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration has again ordered Oak Harbor Freight Lines Inc. to stop retaliating against truck drivers who refuse to drive when they feel too ill or fatigued.

Employer name: Hugo's Roofing Contractors Inc. 26889 Muenz Road Wright City, Missouri

Investigation site: 214 Arbor Meadows Court Fairview Heights, Illinois

EL PASO, Texas — With a history of safety violations dating back 15 years, an El Paso metal stamping plant is no stranger to warnings from the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

Employer name: Commercial Warehousing Inc.

Inspection sites: 102 Industrial Boulevard, Winter Haven, Florida 33880

Date citations issued: The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued the employer citations on July 10, 2015. The January 2015 inspection was initiated as part of the agency's National Emphasis Program for Chemical Plants.

Employer name: Gateway

Inspection site: 1401 20th Street South, Birmingham, Alabama 35205

Date citations issued: The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued citations to the employer on July 10, 2015. The inspection was initiated on January 13, 2015, after the agency received a complaint alleging workplace violence.

LA PORTE, Texas — In November 2014, a worker was overcome at a DuPont chemical manufacturing facility when a supply line unexpectedly released more than 20,000 lbs. of methyl mercaptan, a deadly chemical.Three co-workers came to the worker's aid in an attempted rescue, but all four were asphyxiated fatally by the colorless, flammable, and highly toxic gas.