AUSTIN, Texas — After a worker's leg was entangled in an auger in November 2013, the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration investigated the safety and health practices of American Plant Food Corp.'s Bartlett facility. OSHA issued citations for 12 violations and proposed a penalty of $181,000 for exposing employees to workplace hazards by failing to implement proper energy control procedures that protect workers who service or maintain machines.

EL PASO, Texas — As part of its continuing effort to keep workers safe and healthy by improving working conditions for construction workers, the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration has renewed its 2007 strategic partnership with the El Paso Chapter of the Associated General Contractors of America.

BARTONVILLE, Ill. — Five Star Commercial Roofing Inc. has been cited for a willful safety violation after exposing workers to fall hazards of 29 feet at a commercial roofing project in Bartonville. The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration found workers exposed during a March 3 investigation and proposed civil penalties of $49,000.

WASHINGTON — A series of severe storms has been raging through parts of the Midwest, South and Eastern United States since Sunday. The violent weather stretched from Iowa and Oklahoma to states across the south, including deadly tornadoes in Alabama, Mississippi and Tennessee. Due to ongoing heavy rain, flash flood watches have been issued from Northern Florida up to New England. As residents recover from these events, the U.S.

DALLAS — A series of severe storms has been raging through parts of the Midwest, South and Eastern United States since Sunday. The violent weather devastated a number of communities in Arkansas and Oklahoma. As residents recover from these events, the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration urges recovery workers, employers and the public to be aware of the hazards they can encounter and take necessary steps to stay safe.

SOUTH MILWAUKEE, Wis. — Following injuries to seven workers at Cooper Power Systems LLC, including chemical burns to the skin and irritation to their respiratory tracts requiring urgent medical treatment, the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited the company for six violations, including two willful violations. The workers were injured after exposure to an acid mixture while cleaning a spill that occurred at the facility on Oct. 30, 2013.

AURORA, Ill. — R.C. Wegman Construction Co. and the Fox Valley Building and Construction Trades established a strategic partnership with the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration to protect workers during the construction project for the New Main Aurora Public Library. The Illinois On-Site Safety and Health Consultation Program is also a partner in the project.

CANTON, Ohio — The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration today announced that Republic Steel has agreed to settle alleged health and safety violations at the company's facilities in Lorain, Canton and Massillon, Ohio, as well as Blasdell, N.Y. The comprehensive settlement, in which the company agrees to abate all cited hazards and implement numerous safeguards to prevent future injuries, addresses more than 100 safety and health violations found by OSHA at the company's facilities during inspections conducted in the fall of 2013.

HOUSTON — The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration cited American Sheet Metal Co. for failing to correct safety hazards. OSHA addressed these hazards — which included exposing employees to dangerous unguarded machinery — in a previous inspection. The company's Houston facility received four failure-to-abate violations, with a proposed penalty of $124,000.

Roeder Construction ignores safety requirements at residential jobsite

GRAND ISLAND, Neb. — A 42-year-old worker fell 16 feet to his death and a 25-year-old co-worker suffered serious injuries after their employer, Roeder Construction, failed to provide either man with fall protection as they worked on a roof, an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration has determined.

FRANKFORT, Ill. — Rogers Roofing Inc. has been issued citations for two safety violations by the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration for exposing workers to fall hazards at a residential site on Feb. 28. Proposed penalties for the company, which has been cited by OSHA six times in the past six years for similar violations, total $44,660.

FORT DODGE, Iowa — Canadian National Railway, doing business as Chicago Central and Pacific Railroad, has been found in violation of the Federal Railroad Safety Act by the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration for disciplining an employee at its Fort Dodge Yard complex for taking doctor-ordered time off.

DALLAS — To enhance workplace safety and health for workers in North Texas, the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration signed two alliance agreements today with the Regional Hispanic Contractors Association and the Workers Defense Project in Dallas to commemorate Workers' Memorial Day.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Serious safety and health violations for exposing workers to dangerous welding fumes and other hazards has prompted citations for Dixie Tank Co. in Jacksonville. The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited the company for 23 safety and health violations, including exposing full-time and temporary workers to health hazards from exposure to the toxic chemical hexavalent chromium in excess of federal standards.

CLEAR LAKE, Iowa — Absolute Waste Removal has been found in violation of the Surface Transportation Assistance Act by the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration for wrongfully terminating a truck driver for raising safety concerns during the reorganization of company routes. Headquartered in Clear Lake, Absolute Waste Removal was ordered to reinstate the driver to his former position with all pay, benefits and rights, in addition to paying back wages of $23,203, plus interest.

BILLINGS, Mont. — The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited Cenex Harvest States Inc. for 19 violations of workplace safety and health standards, including 14 serious, three repeat and two other-than-serious violations, at grain-handling facilities in Montana. The company faces $211,000 in proposed fines as a result of four inspections at Montana facilities in Cut Bank, Glendive, Denton and Valier.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Union Pacific Railroad has been ordered to reinstate an injured employee and pay the worker more than $85,000 in damages following an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration. OSHA found that the company, based in Omaha, Neb., was in violation of the whistleblower provisions of the Federal Railroad Safety Act for terminating an employee following the reporting of a workplace injury that occurred at the company's North Platte, Neb., terminal.

SALEM, Ohio — Metal & Wire Products Co. Inc., which manufactures metal parts for recreational vehicles, has been cited for 25 safety and health violations by the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration at its Salem facility. Proposed penalties total $72,800. OSHA's complaint investigation found several violations of machine guarding and lockout/tag out procedures, which protect workers from lacerations, caught-in and amputation hazards.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Workers' Memorial Day 2014 will be commemorated by the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration Kansas City Area Office with two events to remember those who have been injured or have died on the job.

MAPLETON, ND. — Kuechle Underground Inc. has been cited with one willful safety violation by the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration for failing to protect workers from cave-in hazards. OSHA initiated the inspection after an employee's leg was broken when a trench wall collapsed while he was installing residential sewer lines in Mapleton.