July 11, 2024

Department of Labor cites severe safety violator again after inspection finds workers at Vinton steel plant exposed to serious workplace hazards

EL PASO, TX – Two years after the U.S. Department of Labor added Kyoei Steel LTD to its program for severe violators of federal safety and health regulations, inspectors returned for a follow-up inspection at the Vinton steel fabrication and recycling facility and again found the company endangering its workers.

July 11, 2024

Department of Labor cites Connecticut contractor for workplace safety violations found in fatal New Canaan trench cave-in investigation

BRIDGEPORT, CT – An Easton concrete and earthwork contractor could have prevented an employee repairing an underground water line from suffering fatal injuries in a December 2023 trench collapse at a New Canaan work site but failed to follow federal safety standards for excavations.

July 10, 2024

Investigations find contractor repeatedly put employees in unguarded trenches that collapsed, trapped, injured workers in Massachusetts, Rhode Island

BOSTON – Twice in less than three months in late 2023, a Boston waterproofing contractor exposed employees to life-threatening cave-ins and excavation hazards at residential worksites in Arlington, Massachusetts, and Warwick, Rhode Island, federal workplace safety investigators found.

July 9, 2024

US Department of Labor finds Alabama concrete contractor failed to protect 65-year-old employee fatally struck by 4-ton container near Tuscaloosa

MOUNDVILLE, AL – A U.S. Department of Labor workplace safety investigation has found an industrial concrete construction contractor failed to follow required safety procedures that could have prevented a 65-year-old worker from suffering fatal injuries when a shipping container weighing more than four tons fell and struck the employee at a job site near Tuscaloosa.

July 8, 2024

Four years after double fatality, Houston-area tank cleaning contractor cited for same hazards that claimed another employee’s life

HOUSTON A La Porte tank cleaning company again chose to disregard federal safety standards that may have protected their employees from hazardous working conditions and prevented another employee from suffering a fatal injury. In December 2023, just two days before Christmas, the wife and son of an employee at the company grew concerned when he didn’t return after his shift. Later that day, he was found unresponsive.

July 3, 2024

Department of Labor finds Pennsylvania roofing contractor willfully exposed own children to potentially deadly falls at Mechanicsburg site

LIVERPOOL, PA– The owner of a Liverpool roofing company risked the lives of two of his children by exposing them to falls from heights — the construction industry’s leading cause of death — while they worked on roofs atop a Mechanicsburg apartment complex in June 2024, a U.S. Department of Labor investigation has found.

July 2, 2024

US Department of Labor finds Northern Arizona VA Healthcare System again failed to protect employees from serious, potentially deadly patient violence

PRESCOTT, AZ – For the second time in four years, federal investigators have determined a Prescott veterans’ medical center failed to protect healthcare workers from unit residents who kicked, bit, struck, punched, slapped and sexually harassed them.

July 2, 2024

Biden-Harris administration announces proposed rule to protect indoor, outdoor workers from extreme heat

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor has released a proposed rule with the goal of protecting millions of workers from the significant health risks of extreme heat. If finalized, the proposed rule would help protect approximately 36 million workers in indoor and outdoor work settings and substantially reduce heat injuries, illnesses and deaths in the workplace. 

July 2, 2024

US Department of Labor cites Georgia sawmill for willfully exposing workers to hazards after investigation of 24-year-old employee’s fatal injuries

SAVANNAH, GA – The U.S. Department of Labor has determined a Hazlehurst sawmill could have prevented a 24-year-old employee from suffering fatal injuries while working with a woodchipper if the company had ensured that federal safety regulations were followed.

July 1, 2024

US Department of Labor finds Houston metal powder coating company exposed workers to dozens of serious safety hazards

HOUSTON – A federal workplace inspection at a metal refinisher in Houston found the company exposing employees to more than 40 safety hazards with the potential to cause serious health concerns, including birth defects, respiratory disorders, cardiovascular disease and cancers.

June 27, 2024

Department of Labor announces $12.7M funding opportunity to support delivery of employee safety, health training, education

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced the availability of more than $12.7M in training grants made by its Occupational Safety and Health Administration to support initiatives designed to create safer workplaces and, in turn, advance the department’s Good Jobs efforts.

June 27, 2024

US Department of Labor investigation finds Hubbard castings company could have prevented molten metal leak from fatally burning employee

HUBBARD, OH ‒ A Hubbard industrial manufacturer failed to protect their employees from molten metal that was heated to more than 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit, the U.S. Department of Labor determined after its investigation into how a 30-year-old employee suffered fatal injuries.  

June 26, 2024

Department of Labor cites Arcadia labor contractor after farmworker suffers fatal illness while harvesting oranges with heat index over 90

ARCADIA, FL – A federal workplace safety investigation found a Florida labor contractor could have prevented the fatal illness of a 41-year-old worker who collapsed while harvesting oranges at Alico Farms in December 2023 by taking required steps to protect employees from hazards associated with high temperatures. 

June 25, 2024

US Department of Labor cites contractor for lacking required fall protection that contributed to 54-year-old employee’s fatal fall

ATLANTA – A five-man crew’s first day working to remove tar and stone from metal roof panels at a Macon warehouse ended abruptly in November 2023 when a 54-year-old laborer tragically suffered fatal injuries after stepping on a skylight and falling about 19 feet.

A U.S. Department of Labor investigation found Georgia construction contractor could have prevented by providing their employees with required fall protection.

June 25, 2024

Worker’s fatal fall in Chenango County preventable if Tennessee-based contractor had provided employees fall protection equipment, training

SYRACUSE, NY – A construction contractor could have prevented an employee’s fatal fall at a Smyrna, New York job site in December 2023 by providing adequate fall protection and training employees in its effective use, a U.S. Department of Labor investigation found.

June 20, 2024

Department of Labor cites Boaz mobile home manufacturer after 62-year-old worker suffers fatal trauma after 10-foot fall

BOAZ, AL – A Boaz mobile home manufacturer could have prevented a 62-year-old roofing laborer’s fatal fall had the employer followed required fall protection standards, a U.S. Department of Labor investigation found.

The department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration determined that the Kabco Builders Inc. employee was alone loading shingles as they straddled a two-foot-wide space between a platform and a mobile home’s roof when they slipped and fell approximately 10 feet. 

June 20, 2024

US Department of Labor finds Woodbury resin maker’s safety failures contributed to 37-year-old technician’s fatal injuries

ATLANTA – A U.S. Department of Labor workplace safety investigation has found a Woodbury plastic and resin manufacturer could have prevented a 37-year-old employee from suffering fatal injuries by following required safety rules designed to keep machines from starting up during maintenance. 

June 20, 2024

Department of Labor finds American Home Protect, Porch Group fired employee who reported deceptive practices to leadership

PLANO, TX – The U.S. Department of Labor has ordered American Home Protect LLC in Plano and its parent company, Porch Group Inc. in Seattle, to reinstate and pay back wages and compensatory damages to an employee who was fired in June 2023 after informing upper management about deceptive business practices.

June 18, 2024

After Sandusky pork processing facility workers seek medical treatment for ammonia exposure, federal investigators identify 43 safety violations

SANDUSKY, OH – A Sandusky pork processing facility exposed workers to a release of ammonia gas, leading the U.S. Department of Labor to open two inspections and issue 43 violations of federal regulations.

June 18, 2024

US Department of Labor to offer whistleblower program webinar to educate Southeast stakeholders, employers, workers on federal protections

Who:               U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration          

What:             Southeast Region Whistleblower protections webinar