After amputation at Austin manufacturing plant, OSHA cites employer and temp agency for safety violations

Employers' names: Genesis Today Inc. and Texas Management Division Inc., doing business as TMD Temporaries, in Austin, Texas

Citations issued: Nov. 9, 2015

Investigation findings: Genesis Today Inc., a health food supplement manufacturer, was cited for one willful safety violation at its Austin facility for failing to provide machine guarding to prevent workers from being caught in an auger conveyor. Texas Management Division Inc., which provided Genesis Today with temporary workers, was cited for a serious violation for failing to ensure the machine was properly guarded. The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration initiated the May 18 inspection after a worker's hand was caught in the machine and amputated. In April 2013, OSHA announced an initiative to improve workplace safety and health for temporary workers and by doing so, OSHA inspectors look at the roles of the host employer and the staffing agency in eliminating workplace hazards.

Proposed penalties: Genesis Today fines total $56,000 and Texas Management Division fines total $7,000.

Quote: "The loss of his hand is going to affect this worker for the rest of his life — and it was entirely preventable. If his employer had followed common sense safety procedures, he could have avoided this devastating injury. Temporary workers face the same hazards that full-time workers do and they must be protected and properly trained," said Casey Perkins, OSHA's area director in Austin. "The host employer and the staffing agency are both responsible for keeping their workers safe."

Link to the citations:

• https://www.osha.gov/ooc/citation/GenesisToday_1064040_11-09-15.pdf and
• https://www.osha.gov/ooc/citations/TMD_Temporaries_1064059_11-09-15.pdf.

Information: Genesis Today, headquartered in Austin, employs about 40 workers at its Austin facility and Texas Management Division, headquartered in Houston, employs about 1,000 workers nationwide. Both companies have 15 business days from receipt of citations to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA's area director, or contest the citations and penalties before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.

To ask questions; obtain compliance assistance; file a complaint or report amputations, eye loss, workplace hospitalizations, fatalities or situations posing imminent danger to workers, the public should call OSHA's toll-free hotline at 800-321-OSHA (6742) or the agency's Austin Area Office at 512-374-0271. For more information, visit http://www.osha.gov.