January 13, 2022

US Department of Labor finds federal helium enrichment unit failed to follow safe chemical handling procedures in Amarillo, Texas

AMARILLO, TX – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has found that the U.S. Department of Interior’s Bureau of Land Management violated procedures for safe handling of chemical materials at its Cliffside Helium Enrichment Unit in Amarillo, a federal chemical producing plant that refines and sells helium products to private entities.

January 10, 2022

US Department of Labor, Choate Construction to promote workplace safety, health at Savannah historic district project

SAVANNAH, GAThe U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has signed a strategic partnership with Choate Construction to promote worker safety and health during the construction of a mixed-use development in the historic district of Savannah. The Associated General Contractors of Georgia Inc. and the Georgia Tech Enterprise Innovation Institute – Safety, Health and Environmental Services Group are also supporting this partnership effort.

January 7, 2022

US Department of Labor finds Idaho utility contractor put workers at risk by failing to provide lifesaving training on excavation hazards

BILLINGS, MT – A federal workplace safety investigation in July 2021 found a utility contractor in Montana exposed employees working in and around trenches to potentially deadly hazards.

January 6, 2022

US Department of Labor conducts outreach, enforcement actions as cleanup continues in Northeast Arkansas after December 2021 tornadoes

Who:               Wage and Hour Division

                          Occupational Safety and Health Administration

What:             Assistance and enforcement action in Arkansas after December 2021 tornadoes

January 6, 2022

US Department of Labor, Mexican Consulate renew alliance to protect, educate Mexican, Hispanic workers, employers in Kansas, Missouri on safety

KANSAS CITY, MO – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the Consulate General of Mexico in Kansas City have renewed an alliance – first signed in 2013 – to continue their collaborative relationship to promote workplace safety and health with the consulate and Mexican nationals working in Kansas and Missouri.

January 5, 2022

US Department of Labor cites chemical company after two workers die, one sickened following exposure to respiratory hazards

DECATUR, AL – Exposure to dangerous toxins at an Alabama chemical manufacturing plant – Daikin America Inc. – lead to the deaths of two workers and sickened another worker after the employer failed to provide appropriate protective equipment and implement safe work practices during maintenance activities on chemical processing equipment.

January 4, 2022

US Department of Labor secures $1M settlement with New Jersey aluminum foundry to resolve long-standing worker safety, health violations

DELAIR, NJ – Aluminum Shapes LLC will affirm a $1 million penalty and accept 10 willful, 15 repeat and 55 serious violations and one other-than-serious citation in a settlement agreement to resolve two long-running U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration cases related to a fatality and a series of employee injuries at the company’s Delair plant.

December 23, 2021

Contractor faces possible incarceration for failing to abide by court’s orders after willfully, repeatedly subjecting roofing workers to serious safety hazards

JACKSONVILLE, FL – A Florida-based roofing contractor – with a long history of exposing his workers to the serious and potentially fatal risks related to falls – faces possible incarceration for his failure to comply with court orders once again.

December 23, 2021

US Department of Labor cites two contractors after 25-foot fall fatally injures one carpenter, seriously injures another at Bradenton Beach project

BRADENTON BEACH, FL – Two men doing framing work at a residential construction project in Bradenton Beach on June 23, 2021, had no warning when the platform beneath them failed, causing both to fall about 25 feet – roughly two stories – to the ground. Head trauma killed a 49-year-old carpenter and crew leader, who died at the scene. The second worker, a 40-year-old carpenter, suffered fractures to his leg, knee, ribs and nose, and needed transport to a local hospital.

December 21, 2021

US Department of Labor cites 4 contractors after multiple inspections find workers at risk of falls, a leading cause of death, injury in construction

EASTAMPTON, NJ – While falls continue to be the leading cause of death and serious injury in the construction industry, federal workplace safety inspectors too often find employers willing to ignore required safety protections and put the safety of their workers at risk.

December 21, 2021

Federal court orders care facility employers to pay attorneys’ fee to US Department of Labor after failing to comply with OSHA subpoena

BOSTON – The Occupational Safety and Health Act authorizes the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration to issue subpoenas to request necessary documents as part of an OSHA inspection. If a recipient fails to comply, the department may then move to enforce the subpoena in federal district court. A recent decision by the U.S.

December 20, 2021

US Department of Labor finds roofing contractors willfully ignored fall protections that led to 19-year-old worker’s deadly fall

NEVILLE ISLAND, PA – A workplace safety investigation into the June death in Neville Island of a 19-year-old roofing worker who fell 30 feet through an unprotected skylight found two commercial contractors willfully failed to use fall protection systems that might have saved his life.

December 20, 2021

US Department of Labor finds Leawood contractor continues to expose workers to asbestos, other hazards at historic Kansas City site

KANSAS CITY, MO – A Leawood contractor rehabbing the Firestone, Shankman and Michaelson buildings in Kansas City’s historic Troost commercial district continues to expose its workers to asbestos and other workplace hazards, a June 29, 2021, federal safety and health investigation has found.

December 18, 2021

Statement from the US Department of Labor on the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals dissolving the stay of OSHA emergency temporary standard on vaccination and testing

“OSHA is gratified the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit dissolved the Fifth Circuit’s stay of the Vaccination and Testing Emergency Temporary Standard. OSHA can now once again implement this vital workplace health standard, which will protect the health of workers by mitigating the spread of the unprecedented virus in the workplace.

December 16, 2021

US Department of Labor proposes $204K in fines after worker suffers amputation at Arkansas wood flooring plant

MONTICELLO, AR – A knot saw operator suffered a partial amputation of an index finger in June 2021 when his hand came in contact with a rotating blade that lacked adequate machine guarding. A few weeks earlier, a similar saw at the Maxwell Hardwood Flooring plant in Monticello lacerated a co-worker’s palm severely, leaving them with nerve damage.

December 15, 2021

US Department of Labor cites global spice importer after worker suffers partial finger amputation at Jackson facility, levies $146K in penalties

JACKSON, AL – On Aug. 8, a 61-year-old maintenance employee of iSpice LLC in Jackson had part of his finger amputated while adding wrapping material to a machine that started and trapped his hand. His employer failed to ensure proper guarding was installed. The incident occurred less than six months after the U.S.

December 14, 2021

US Department of Labor, Langlas & Associates align to promote worker safety during construction of Rocky Vista University medical school

BILLINGS, MT – The U.S. Department of Labor announced that the department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration and Langlas & Associates Inc. have signed a strategic partnership to prevent serious hazards, and enhance workplace safety and health practices for workers on the Rocky Vista University construction project in Billings.

December 13, 2021

History of violations: Dollar General continues to put workers at risk; company faces $321K in penalties after recent Alabama inspection

MOBILE, AL – As the nation’s largest discount retailer, Dollar General stores are widely known by shoppers in 46 states for their low-price merchandise. At the U.S. Department of Labor, the company is recognized for its long history of violations and repeated failures to protect its workers from on-the-job hazards.

December 6, 2021

US Department of Labor extends deadline for nominations to serve on Federal Advisory Council on Occupational Safety and Health

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor has extended the deadline for submitting nominations to serve on the Federal Advisory Council on Occupational Safety and Health. Nominations must now be submitted by Jan. 31, 2022.

December 3, 2021

Queens contractor failed to provide lifesaving fall protection, training to employees at Brooklyn worksite, US Department of Labor finds

NEW YORK – A federal workplace safety investigation has found a Queens construction contractor failed to provide and ensure the use of effective fall protection safeguards that would have prevented the death of a worker who fell about 60 feet from a roof on May 27, 2021, during demolition of a Brooklyn building.