OSHA cites Irvington convenience store, where employee was killed in October 2015 robbery, for lack of employee safety protections

Employer name: Jay Management Inc.

Inspection site: 1060 Stuyvesant Ave., Irvington, New Jersey

Citations issued: The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued one willful citation under the Occupational Safety and Health Act’s general duty clause to Jay Management Inc. on April 25, 2016.

Inspection findings: The agency opened an investigation after an assailant with a handgun shot a store associate during an attempted armed robbery in the evening hours of Oct. 28, 2015. OSHA determined that the employer exposed the store associate to workplace hazards, resulting in the willful citation. The employee later died.

Quote: “In the past five years, 20 workplace violence incidents involving theft, armed robbery and fights occurred at this store. Jay Management was well aware of this history and, even after the death of its employee in October the employer did nothing to implement safety measures to protect employees. This disregard for employee safety is unacceptable and will not be tolerated,” said Kris Hoffman, OSHA’s area director in Parsippany.

Proposed penalties: $14,000

The citations can be viewed at: http://www.osha.gov/ooc/citations/JayManagementInc_1108787.pdf

The employer has 15 business days from receipt of its citations and proposed penalties to comply, request a conference 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 Parsippany Area Office at 973-263-1003.

Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, employers are responsible for providing safe and healthful workplaces for their employees. OSHA’s role is to ensure these conditions for America’s working men and women by setting and enforcing standards, and providing training, education and assistance. For more information, visit http://www.osha.gov.