Who:               Marvin, West Fargo South, West Fargo, North Dakota

What:             Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s Voluntary Protection Program  Star Level Designation

Background: Marvin, a West Fargo door manufacturer, has earned recognition for its proactive safety and health programs leading to designation as a Star Level VPP.

HENDERSON, TX – A federal investigation into fatal injuries suffered by an 86-year-old worker at a Henderson sawmill and pallet manufacturer found the company exposed workers to hazardous energy sources and lack of machine guarding.

Employer name: Sinclair & Rush Inc.

Employer address: 640 Dell Road, Carlstadt, New Jersey 07072

Citations issued: On Jan. 19, 2022, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued 10 serious and one other-than-serious safety and health citations.

JACKSONVILLE, FL – A federal court assessed a $50,000 penalty to a north Florida construction contractor for attempting to deceive federal workplace safety investigators.

ABBOTSFORD, WI ‒ At the Abbotsford location of a popular Midwest tire sales-and-service provider, a worker mounting a new tire sustained fatal injuries after the tire came loose and struck him on July 28, 2021. A few weeks later, another worker from the same company suffered a similar fate at a Savage, Minnesota, location on Aug. 17, 2021.

CREST HILL, IL – A 42-year-old employee of a Crest Hill frozen-pizza manufacturer suffered a fatal injury while cleaning a machine on July 20, 2021.

NORTH PORT, FL – Working in the recesses of Apalachicola National Forest on a July day as temperatures neared 100 degrees, the supervisor of two crews hired to clear invasive plants saw one 42-year-old worker was sweating heavily, his hands were trembling, and he seemed confused, unable to respond to commands.

MOUNT VERNON, OH – Responding to a complaint that a Mount Vernon auto-parts supplier was ignoring guidelines to limit employee exposure to the coronavirus and that several employees were sick, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration found the company did not enforce its own policy or federal guidelines on social distancing and mask wearing.

HARTFORD, CT– An employee of a Watertown metal fabrication company was electrocuted on July 14, 2021, while repairing a portable water heater. An inspection by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration found that his employer, PM Engineered Solutions Inc., lacked safeguards to protect employees against electrocution, as well as mechanical, chemical, fall and other electrical hazards.

WASHINGTON – The Department of Labor, Department of Education, Federal Communications Commission and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration today announced the members of a cross-agency working group that will collaborate to identify the current and future needs of the telecommunications industry workforce, including the safety of that workforce.

NEW YORK – Registered nurses, certified nursing assistants, patient care technicians and security officers provide essential services in healthcare settings. Their work also exposes them to various on-the-job hazards, including assault and other forms of workplace violence. When such hazards exist, employers must develop and maintain an effective workplace violence prevention program.

AMARILLO, TX – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has found that the U.S. Department of Interior’s Bureau of Land Management violated procedures for safe handling of chemical materials at its Cliffside Helium Enrichment Unit in Amarillo, a federal chemical producing plant that refines and sells helium products to private entities.

SAVANNAH, GA – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has signed a strategic partnership with Choate Construction to promote worker safety and health during the construction of a mixed-use development in the historic district of Savannah. The Associated General Contractors of Georgia Inc. and the Georgia Tech Enterprise Innovation Institute – Safety, Health and Environmental Services Group are also supporting this partnership effort.

BILLINGS, MT – A federal workplace safety investigation in July 2021 found a utility contractor in Montana exposed employees working in and around trenches to potentially deadly hazards.

KANSAS CITY, MO – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the Consulate General of Mexico in Kansas City have renewed an alliance – first signed in 2013 – to continue their collaborative relationship to promote workplace safety and health with the consulate and Mexican nationals working in Kansas and Missouri.

Who:               Wage and Hour Division

                          Occupational Safety and Health Administration

What:             Assistance and enforcement action in Arkansas after December 2021 tornadoes

When:            Ongoing

Where:           Northeast Arkansas

DECATUR, AL – Exposure to dangerous toxins at an Alabama chemical manufacturing plant – Daikin America Inc. – lead to the deaths of two workers and sickened another worker after the employer failed to provide appropriate protective equipment and implement safe work practices during maintenance activities on chemical processing equipment.

DELAIR, NJ – Aluminum Shapes LLC will affirm a $1 million penalty and accept 10 willful, 15 repeat and 55 serious violations and one other-than-serious citation in a settlement agreement to resolve two long-running U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration cases related to a fatality and a series of employee injuries at the company’s Delair plant.

JACKSONVILLE, FL – A Florida-based roofing contractor – with a long history of exposing his workers to the serious and potentially fatal risks related to falls – faces possible incarceration for his failure to comply with court orders once again.

BRADENTON BEACH, FL – Two men doing framing work at a residential construction project in Bradenton Beach on June 23, 2021, had no warning when the platform beneath them failed, causing both to fall about 25 feet – roughly two stories – to the ground. Head trauma killed a 49-year-old carpenter and crew leader, who died at the scene. The second worker, a 40-year-old carpenter, suffered fractures to his leg, knee, ribs and nose, and needed transport to a local hospital.