ATLANTA – A series of federal workplace safety and health inspections at four Dollar General stores in Alabama and Georgia in the summer of 2021 found the nationwide discount retailer’s long history of exposing employees to dangerous working conditions continues.

PALISADES PARK, NJ – An administrative law judge with the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission affirmed willful, repeat and serious citations issued by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration to Framing Specialist Inc., a Palisades Park construction contractor, who exposed workers to fall and safety hazards at two Bergen County work sites.

WOLF CREEK, MT – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has certified NorthWestern Energy’s Holter Hydroelectric Plant in Wolf Creek as a “Star” worksite in the agency’s Voluntary Protection Programs, the highest level of recognition for workplace safety and health excellence.

WASHINGTON, DC ‒ U.S. healthcare workers experienced a staggering 249 percent increase in injury and illness rates in 2020, based on employer-reported data, as they encountered serious safety and health hazards while serving those in need and labored countless hours battling the pandemic. In fact, healthcare and social assistance workers combined for more injuries and illnesses than any other industry in the nation.

Participant:   Molson Coors

Address:         Rocky Mountain Metal Container End Plant

                        Golden, Colorado

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor announced today a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking by the department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration to improve worker safety and health by ensuring the agency’s general industry and construction industry rules reflect current industry practice and state-of-the-art technology.

PORT ARTHUR, TX – The U.S. Department of Labor has filed suit against a Florida security contractor that terminated a worker after they raised concerns in a work group chat on a secure messaging app about safe firearm storage and coronavirus-related workplace hazards, including a lack of physical distancing and other potential exposure risks.

BOSTON – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited the employer involved in a February 2021 double fatality at a downtown Boston worksite and his successor company again for failing to provide employees with essential and required safeguards, this time at an East Boston residential construction site.  

ONAGA, KS ‒ Amid the pandemic, U.S. healthcare workers experienced a staggering 249 percent increase in injury and illness rates in 2020 while serving those in need. In fact, workers in the healthcare and social assistance industries combined, suffered more injuries and illnesses than workers in any industry in the nation.

Who:               Marvin, West Fargo South, West Fargo, North Dakota

What:             Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s Voluntary Protection Program  Star Level Designation

HENDERSON, TX – A federal investigation into fatal injuries suffered by an 86-year-old worker at a Henderson sawmill and pallet manufacturer found the company exposed workers to hazardous energy sources and lack of machine guarding.

Employer name: Sinclair & Rush Inc.

Employer address: 640 Dell Road, Carlstadt, New Jersey 07072

Citations issued: On Jan. 19, 2022, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued 10 serious and one other-than-serious safety and health citations.

JACKSONVILLE, FL – A federal court assessed a $50,000 penalty to a north Florida construction contractor for attempting to deceive federal workplace safety investigators.

CREST HILL, IL – A 42-year-old employee of a Crest Hill frozen-pizza manufacturer suffered a fatal injury while cleaning a machine on July 20, 2021.

ABBOTSFORD, WI ‒ At the Abbotsford location of a popular Midwest tire sales-and-service provider, a worker mounting a new tire sustained fatal injuries after the tire came loose and struck him on July 28, 2021. A few weeks later, another worker from the same company suffered a similar fate at a Savage, Minnesota, location on Aug. 17, 2021.

NORTH PORT, FL – Working in the recesses of Apalachicola National Forest on a July day as temperatures neared 100 degrees, the supervisor of two crews hired to clear invasive plants saw one 42-year-old worker was sweating heavily, his hands were trembling, and he seemed confused, unable to respond to commands.

MOUNT VERNON, OH – Responding to a complaint that a Mount Vernon auto-parts supplier was ignoring guidelines to limit employee exposure to the coronavirus and that several employees were sick, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration found the company did not enforce its own policy or federal guidelines on social distancing and mask wearing.

HARTFORD, CT– An employee of a Watertown metal fabrication company was electrocuted on July 14, 2021, while repairing a portable water heater. An inspection by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration found that his employer, PM Engineered Solutions Inc., lacked safeguards to protect employees against electrocution, as well as mechanical, chemical, fall and other electrical hazards.

NEW YORK – Registered nurses, certified nursing assistants, patient care technicians and security officers provide essential services in healthcare settings. Their work also exposes them to various on-the-job hazards, including assault and other forms of workplace violence. When such hazards exist, employers must develop and maintain an effective workplace violence prevention program.

WASHINGTON – The Department of Labor, Department of Education, Federal Communications Commission and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration today announced the members of a cross-agency working group that will collaborate to identify the current and future needs of the telecommunications industry workforce, including the safety of that workforce.