OKLAHOMA CITY – Federal workplace safety investigators have determined that an Arkansas construction contractor failed to test oxygen levels in the confined space before two workers entered a sewer 20 feet below ground at an Edmond work site and died because of a lack of oxygen.

DENVER – A federal whistleblower investigation has found a Denver-based information technology services provider retaliated against an employee who raised concerns about the company’s failure to pay trust fund taxes to the IRS.

Participants:      U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration

                                   Consulate General of Mexico

Participant:    Blackstone Power Generation LLC, Blackstone, Massachusetts.  

                              Bellingham Power Generation LLC, Bellingham, Massachusetts.

PUEBLO, CO – A federal workplace safety investigation into the deaths of two workers buried under a pile of shifting coal at a Pueblo industrial loading facility in June 2022 found that their employer failed to follow required federal standards and did not train workers on safety processes.

RICHMOND HILL, GA – Once again, federal workplace safety inspectors have found merchandise blocking emergency exits and stacked unsafely, this time at a Family Dollar store in Richmond Hill.

Participants:      U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational

                                   Safety and Health Administration

                                   Hispanic Contractors Association de Tejas

MATTESON, IL – With holiday shopping nearing its peak, federal workplace safety inspectors have again found Dollar Tree Stores Inc. – one of the nation’s largest discount retailers – exposing workers in Matteson to the risks of unsafely stored and stacked boxes of merchandise and blocked electrical panels.  

MIDDLEFIELD, OH – Twice in six days in June 2022, federal safety inspectors observed a Middlefield roofing contractor exposing workers to deadly fall hazards at two separate job sites in Tallmadge and Columbia Station, continuing a pattern of disregard for workplace safety dating back to 2019.

Participants: U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration

El Paso Community College

POOLER, GA – Following a workplace safety inspection, federal investigators determined a Pooler location of a national discount retailer stacked and stored merchandise unsafely, exposing workers to struck-by hazards from falling boxes and preventing them from exiting the store quickly in an emergency.

APPLETON, WI – An Appleton contractor with a long history of exposing employees to dangerous fall hazards now faces $349,371 in additional penalties after U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration inspectors observed roofing workers at heights greater than 6 feet at risk of serious or fatal injuries at two Appleton-area jobsites in May and June 2022.

COLUMBUS, OH – When federal workplace safety inspectors opened an investigation at a Dollar General store in Columbus, they discovered violations that were all-too-familiar and the kind that has led to more than $15 million in proposed penalties since 2017 for one of the nation’s largest discount retailers.

BROADVIEW, IL ‒ Federal safety investigators found a Schaumburg excavating contractor has again failed to follow federally mandated safety measures to protect workers from potentially deadly trenches cave-ins.

Trench collapses are among the construction industry’s most lethal hazards. In the first six months of 2022, OSHA reports 22 workers suffered fatal injuries in trenching and excavation work.

Participants:   Occupational Safety and Health Administration

                         New York State Department of Labor

                         New York State Brewers Association

                         Brewers Association

Who:             U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration

                      Great Plains Occupational Safety and Health Administration Education Center

 What:             Alliance Program Ambassador

ATLANTA – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration urges first responders, people in recovery efforts, and residents in areas affected by Tropical Storm Nicole to be aware of the many hazards that flooding, power loss, structural damage, fallen trees and storm debris may create.

BRAINTREE, MA – On May 5, 2022, an employee of an Everett demolition contractor lost his legs when a concrete mezzanine platform on the west wall of a building at the former Boston Edison power plant in South Boston collapsed during demolition and asbestos abatement operations. Two other workers suffered injuries as well.

CALUMET CITY, IL – Three times in four months, federal safety inspectors observed workers employed by a Calumet City roofing contractor exposed to deadly fall hazards at job sites in Lake Zurich and Wheeling. In each instance, the company’s foremen on site failed to protect workers from known hazards as they did residential framing work on new homes under construction.

MAPLETON, IL ‒ On June 2, 2022, a 39-year-old employee of a Mapleton foundry fell and was immediately incinerated in an 11-foot-deep pot of molten iron heated to more than 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit. A federal investigation determined that, if required safety guards or fall protection had been installed, the 39-year-old employee’s ninth day on the job might not have been their last.