December 29, 2014

OSHA News Release: Dorney Park and Wildwater Kingdom fail to protect young workers from heat hazards and illness, OSHA finds [12/29/2014]

ALLENTOWN, Pa. — Seasonally-employed workers, mostly teen employees, hired as outdoor and food stand staff at Dorney Park and Wildwater Kingdom, were exposed to heat hazards during their summer employment, according to the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

December 29, 2014

OSHA News Release: Exposing workers to electrical shock and other hazards yields fines of $66,400 for Troy, Texas, manufacturer [12/29/2014]

TROY, Texas — Twice in 18 months, C & H Die Casting Inc. has exposed workers to safety hazards, the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration found, leading the agency to cite the Troy-based company for 15 serious safety and health standards violations with proposed penalties of $66,400.

December 23, 2014

OSHA News Release: Proframing Contractors repeatedly exposes roofers to potentially fatal fall hazards [12/23/2014]

GAHANNA, Ohio — In the past eight years, Proframing Contractors Inc. was cited for 10 violations when it allowed employees to work on roofs without fall protection and then refused to pay the majority of its associated penalties from the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration. On Oct. 24, 2014, OSHA inspectors again observed three company employees who worked at heights of up to 20 feet without fall protection on a commercial building in Gahanna.

December 23, 2014

OSHA News Release: West Monroe, Louisiana, packaging plant worker suffers serious hand injury as dangerous hazards are ignored [12/23/2014]

BATON ROUGE, La. — After a Graphic Packaging International Inc. employee suffered a severe injury in June 2014 when the worker's hand was caught in a moving printing press, the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration cited the employer for 28 safety violations. Proposed penalties total $129,000.

December 23, 2014

OSHA News Release: OSHA cites The Davey Tree Expert Co. for again ignoring vehicle rollover hazard leading to fatal injury of tree trimmer [12/23/2014]

CLAYSBURG, Pa. — A 21-year-old tree trimmer employed by The Davey Tree Expert Co. was fatally injured after a utility task vehicle ran over him at a Claysburg work site. First Energy Service Co. contracted the Kent, Ohio-based company to trim trees and remove other vegetation along power transmission lines.

December 22, 2014

OSHA News Release: OSHA cites Robertson Incorporated Bridge and Grading Division after 16-year-old laborer dies at Delta, Missouri, construction site [12/22/2014]

DELTA, Mo. — A 16-year-old laborer was fatally struck by the swinging cab and boom of a crane being disassembled by Robertson Incorporated Bridge and Grading Division at a construction site in Delta on June 18, 2014. A U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration investigation found the crane operator was unaware that the teen was directed to stand in an inadequately marked danger zone. The teen also was not provided required protective headgear.

December 18, 2014

OSHA News Release: M. Durrance Construction of Jacksonville, Florida, cited for willfully exposing workers to dangerous falls [12/18/2014]

ORANGE PARK, Fla. — M. Durrance Construction Inc. of Jacksonville was cited by the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration for exposing workers to dangerous falls during framing work at a residence on Hawthorn Way in Orange Park. The October 2014 inspection was initiated as part of the agency's Regional Emphasis Program on Falls in Construction.

December 18, 2014

OSHA News Release: OSHA investigation finds workers exposed to lead, copper fumes at Republic Metals in Cleveland [12/18/2014]

CLEVELAND — A complaint that alleged unsafe work conditions at Republic Metals Inc. resulted in U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration inspectors uncovering dangerous levels of lead and copper fumes. The investigation found that the company failed to implement engineering controls and maintain areas free of lead dust and accumulation. The Aug.

December 18, 2014

OSHA News Release: OSHA cites Basic Grain Products after 2 workers injured at Coldwater, Ohio, rice-cake plant [12/18/2014]

COLDWATER, Ohio — In response to a complaint of an electrical shock injury, the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration found that a 20-year employee was injured while he performed service work on an electrical panel at a Coldwater rice-cake manufacturer. Following the investigation, OSHA has cited Basic Grain Products Inc. for two repeated and five serious safety violations.

December 17, 2014

OSHA News Release: Worker fatally struck by car at meat processing plant in San Antonio [12/17/2014]

SAN ANTONIO — Raul Saucedo, who had not been provided with high-visibility clothing by his employer, was fatally struck by a car while cleaning outside the Surlean Foods facility, the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration has found.

December 17, 2014

OSHA News Release: OSHA cites Dollar Tree Stores for exposing workers to serious hazards for second time in Delaware [12/17/2014]

NEW CASTLE, Del. — North American discount chain Dollar Tree Stores Inc. has been cited for the second time in Delaware since late 2013 by the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration after inspectors saw an employee struck by falling boxes during a visit to its New Castle store in June 2014. For willfully and repeatedly exposing workers to serious hazards there, OSHA has proposed penalties totaling $103,000.

December 17, 2014

OSHA News Release: Formed Fiber Technologies ignores violations and exposes workers to dangerous machinery and risk of serious injury [12/17/2014]

SIDNEY, Ohio — For the third time since October 2013, Formed Fiber Technologies LLC has been cited for putting workers at risk of amputation and other serious injury by exposing them to dangerous, moving machine parts. The Sidney facility produces motor vehicle interior trimmings for Toyota Motor Corp., General Motors Co. and other manufacturers and was cited by the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration in 2013 and twice in 2014.

December 17, 2014

OSHA News Release: Death of Brooklyn, New York, supermarket worker preventable, OSHA finds [12/17/2014]

NEW YORK — A 22-year-old employee of Moisha's Kosher Discount Supermarket Inc. in Brooklyn was fatally crushed between a cement wall and a forklift on June 10, 2014, as employees used an electrical pallet jack to push a broken forklift up a ramp to the supermarket's roof. While doing so, the forklift rolled back down the ramp, and then pinned the worker against the wall. An inspection by the U.S.

December 16, 2014

OSHA News Release: Metro-North Commuter Railroad Co. violates rights of Connecticut worker who reported injury and filed OSHA complaint [12/16/2014]

HARTFORD, Conn. — Metro-North's actions against an injured worker have resulted in the largest punitive damages ever in a retaliation case under the Federal Railroad Safety Act. A recent investigation by the U.S. Labor Department's Occupational Safety and Health Administration uncovered these details and revealed that the worker, who is employed as a coach cleaner for the commuter rail carrier, was retaliated against after reporting the knee injury he suffered on Nov. 17, 2011.

December 16, 2014

OSHA News Release: Eaton Corp. cited for employee's heat-related kidney failure at Kearney, Nebraska, automotive manufacturing plant [12/16/2014]

KEARNEY, Neb. — A dehydrated 53-year-old Eaton Corp. employee suffered acute kidney failure while working in extreme indoor heat at the company's automotive manufacturing plant. The employee, who worked at the facility for 20 years, operated industrial machinery at the Kearney plant on July 11, 2014, when the heat index soared to 101 degrees. The worker later recovered after being hospitalized for more than 24 hours to treat the illness.

December 16, 2014

OSHA News Release: Metro-North Commuter Railroad Co. violates rights of Connecticut worker who reported injury and filed OSHA complaint [12/16/2014]

HARTFORD, Conn. — Metro-North's actions against an injured worker have resulted in the largest punitive damages ever in a retaliation case under the Federal Railroad Safety Act. A recent investigation by the U.S. Labor Department's Occupational Safety and Health Administration uncovered these details and revealed that the worker, who is employed as a coach cleaner for the commuter rail carrier, was retaliated against after reporting the knee injury he suffered on Nov. 17, 2011.

December 16, 2014

OSHA News Release: OSHA cites Budweiser distribution center for serious safety violations [12/16/2014]

JERSEY CITY, N.J. — A distribution warehouse for beverage manufacturer Anheuser-Busch InBev SA, makers of Budweiser, Bud Light and Corona beer, willfully put workers at risk of serious injury. Doing business as Anheuser-Busch Sales of New Jersey, the company exposed permanent and temporary workers to hazards that involved powered industrial trucks and other dangers at its Jersey City facility, an investigation on June 4, 2014, by the U.S.

December 15, 2014

OSHA News Release: Extreme temperatures and other safety hazards found at Birds Eye Foods plant in Darien, Wisconsin [12/15/2014]

DARIEN, Wis. — One would expect subzero temperatures in the Arctic Circle and understand the need for a coat, but employees working in a 40-degree-below-zero Fahrenheit freezer at Birds Eye Foods Inc. in Darien were left in the cold. An investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration found that the company expected employees to work in extreme temperatures without properly insulated personal protective equipment.

December 15, 2014

OSHA News Release: Fiabila USA and 2 staffing agencies expose workers to explosion and chemical hazards at nail polish manufacturer [12/15/2014]

MINE HILL, N.J. — Permanent and temporary workers were exposed to workplace dangers, including chemical hazards and vapors from flammable liquids, at a Fiabila USA Inc. facility in Mine Hill. Following a complaint, an inspection in May 2014 by the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration found Fiabila workers and temporary workers employed by two staffing agencies were exposed to hazards and other dangerous safety and health violations at the plant.

December 11, 2014

OSHA News Release: Vallencourt Construction of Middleburg, Florida, cited for willful, serious safety hazards; $169K in fines proposed [12/11/2014]

ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. — Vallencourt Construction Co. Inc. knowingly endangered employees at a residential construction site by allowing them to work in an unprotected excavation on Las Calinas Boulevard in St. Augustine. Following a June 2014 inspection, the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration cited Vallencourt for two willful and five serious safety violations. Proposed penalties total $169,000.