Speedway lacking adequate workplace violence safeguards, OSHA finds

Employer name: Speedway LLC Inc., 6020 South Salina St., Syracuse, NY 13205

Reason for inspection: An employee working alone late at night at a company gasoline station/convenience store in South Syracuse was shot in the leg on May 10, 2015, during an armed robbery.

Investigation findings: The inspection by the Syracuse Area Office of the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration found that employees were exposed to the clearly recognized hazard of workplace violence, in that they were exposed to physical assaults while performing their routine duties.

Feasible, industry recognized and accepted abatement methods to correct this hazard could include a combination of:

• A comprehensive workplace violence prevention program that includes management and worker involvement, analysis of worksite hazards, hazard prevention and control measures and safety and health training.
• Installing panic buttons to alert local authorities, physical barriers such as bullet resistant enclosures to separate customers from store employees and a drive-through window for the overnight hours.
• Redesigning the store to allow for better visibility and hanging signs to inform the public of security precautions such as a time locked safe, limited accessible cash and video surveillance.

Citations issued: OSHA cited the company on Nov. 9, 2015, for one serious violation.

Proposed penalties: $7,000

Quote: "The hazards of workplace violence in late night retail establishments are well known, but so are the measures employers can take to safeguard their employees against these hazards," said Robert Kulick, OSHA's regional administrator in New York.

"It is imperative that Speedway take effective and ongoing action to prevent and minimize future injuries to its employees," said Christopher Adams, OSHA's area director in Syracuse.

Information: Recommendations for Workplace Violence Prevention Programs in Late-Night Retail Establishments

Next steps: Speedway LLC Inc. has 15 business days from receipt of its citations and proposed penalties to comply, meet with OSHA's area director, or contest the findings 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 Syracuse Area Office at 315-451-0808.