Employer name: Redhawk Roofing Inc.
Libertyville, Illinois 60048

Inspection site: 865 Gordon Terrace
Winnetka, Illinois 60093

Citations issued: Dec. 16, 2016

WASHINGTON – A new rule issued today by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration dramatically lowers workplace exposure to beryllium, a strategically important material that can cause devastating lung diseases. The new beryllium standards for general industry, construction and shipyards will require employers to take additional, practical measures to protect an estimated 62,000 workers from these serious risks.

FAIRMONT, W.Va. – When a co-worker severed part of his thumb in July 2014, a food processor at a beef jerky manufacturing plant acted quickly, helping him apply pressure to the wound and using her cellphone to call 911. Before responders could answer, the company’s owner ordered her to hang up. Two days later, she was terminated.

Employer name: Nemo Plastics Inc.

Inspection site: 1425 Candler Road
Gainesville, Georgia 30507

Citations issued: The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued citations to Nemo Plastics for 21 serious and three other-than-serious safety and health violations. The inspection was initiated after the agency received a complaint.

BELLEVILLE, Ill. ‒ Federal investigators proposed penalties of $214,782 to an Illinois roofing contractor after a recent inspection at a home construction site in Troy found workers exposed to fall hazards. Statistics show falls cause four of every 10 deaths in the construction industry.

MONROE, Wis. – Federal investigators found a local medical clinic failed to tell maintenance workers they were being exposed to hazardous asbestos material – which the company identified in 2008 – and did not provide workers with protective equipment.

Employer name: Jersey City Medical Center RWJ Barnabas Health

Inspection site: 355 Grand St.
Jersey City, New Jersey

Citations issued: On Dec. 21, 2016, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued citations to the medical center for one willful and four serious safety violations.

CHICAGO – For the third time since the summer of 2015, a worker with a metal container manufacturer has suffered an amputation injury. In each incident, federal safety investigators found that, if the employer had complied with workplace safety standards, the injuries were preventable.

On Dec. 27, 2016, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued

DENVER – An investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has found that BNSF Railway Company violated federal law when it terminated a track inspector for insubordination after the employee reported railroad track defects to management.

MARATHON, Wis. –Federal safety inspectors found multiple woodworking machines at a Wisconsin lumber company lacked adequate safeguards and that workers were not properly trained in isolating energy to machines to prevent contact with operating parts during set-up, servicing and maintenance.

NEW PHILADELPHIA, Ohio – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has proposed penalties of $274,934 to a New Philadelphia plastics manufacturer after its investigation of a second debilitating injury suffered by an employee in less than 18 months.

COLUMBUS, Wis. – A federal investigation prompted by the death of a 17-year-old worker at a Columbus metal fabrication facility has resulted in multiple safety and health violations.

NEWARK, N.J. — For too long, a hard day's work for United Airlines' baggage handlers at Newark Liberty International Airport meant unnecessary pain and the risk of debilitating injuries caused by lifting customer baggage using awkward postures. From 2011 to January 2015, the airline's baggage handlers reported at least 622 musculoskeletal injuries.

Employer name: Hackensack Roofing Co. Inc.
83 First St.
Hackensack, New Jersey

Inspection sites: 297 Carlton Ave.
East Rutherford, New Jersey

3100-3400 Nelkin Drive
Wallington, New Jersey

Citations issued: On Dec. 16, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued citations to the company for one serious and three repeat safety violations.

MOLINE, Ill. – Under terms of a settlement agreement, a pipefitter previously employed by John Deere will receive a total of $204,315 in back wages and “front pay” and $70,685 in other damages.

WATFORD CITY, N.D. – An operator and two servicing companies’ failure to control a North Dakota oil well properly led to a flash fire that killed a 52-year-old worker and burned three other workers severely at a Watford City well site, federal investigators have found.

MIAMI – If Southern Chills, a Homestead-based contractor, had not ignored the construction industry’s most dangerous hazard, Leonardo Javier Lopez-Montelo might be alive today.

The 33-year-old laborer fell nearly 11 feet through an unprotected stairway opening as he performed punch-list activities at the Kendall Square housing complex construction site in Miami, and suffered fatal injuries.

EL DORADO SPRINGS, Mo. – A federal workplace safety inspection – that occurred only after a federal court ordered an El Dorado Springs sheet metal manufacturer to allow inspectors to respond to complaints of unsafe working conditions and employee injuries – led to the discovery of more than a dozen repeated and serious violations and an assessment of $138,430 in proposed fines.

BOISE, Idaho – Brandon Horine’s first day at work removing shingles from a residential roof in Nampa was also his last. Without required fall protection equipment in place, the 42-year-old worker fell to the ground on Sept. 12, 2016 – suffering severe brain trauma that ended his life several days later.

Employer name: Star Laundry Inc.
421 and 436 East 16^th St.
Paterson, New Jersey