ATLANTA – A U.S. Department of Labor workplace safety investigation has found a Woodbury plastic and resin manufacturer could have prevented a 37-year-old employee from suffering fatal injuries by following required safety rules designed to keep machines from starting up during maintenance. 

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

What:             Southeast Region Whistleblower protections webinar 

SANDUSKY, OH – A Sandusky pork processing facility exposed workers to a release of ammonia gas, leading the U.S. Department of Labor to open two inspections and issue 43 violations of federal regulations.

ARLINGTON, TX – A federal workplace safety investigation of a global manufacturer and distributor of pet products in Arlington identified one willful violation and eight serious violations of required safety regulations during its investigation into how an employee suffered severe facial burns in December 2023.  

MIAMI – The U.S. Department of Labor reminds emergency responders and others working in rescue and recovery efforts as well as residents in areas flooded recently by intense rainfall to be vigilant and to protect themselves and avoid many hazards in a storm’s aftermath.

HANOVER PARK, IL – Federal workplace safety inspectors found an Illinois construction contractor — cited seven times since 2020 — again exposing employees doing framing work to the risk of deadly falls from elevation at two homes under construction in Hanover Park in December 2023 and February 2024. 

LONG BRANCH, NJ – A Long Branch construction contractor with a history of ignoring federal fall safety standards has again been found exposing employees to potentially deadly fall hazards in eight work site inspections from November 2023 to March 2024.

HOUSTON – A federal Administrative Law Judge has upheld the Department of Labor’s finding that a Houston crane and rigging services provider violated federal law by firing a company truck driver on June 5, 2020, for refusing to exceed safe driving limits set by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. 

NEWARK, NJ – A federal administrative law judge has affirmed safety violations against United Airlines related to a 2021 incident at Newark Liberty International Airport in which a 737’s tire crushed a technician’s foot as they worked with one of the company’s towing crews.

APPLETON, WI – Federal investigators have concluded that an Appleton pallet manufacturer’s failure to train employees in machine safety procedures — and ensure the procedures were followed — contributed to the fatal injuries suffered by a 57-year-old employee struck by the carriage of a lumber stacking machine in late 2023.

WILLARD, OH – One of the world’s largest and best-known tool and equipment manufacturers could have prevented a 29-year-old maintenance electrician from suffering severe burns during an electrical arc blast at a company facility in Willard if required safety standards were followed, a U.S. Department of Labor investigation has found. 

LINDEN, NJ  – The U.S. Department of Labor has reached a settlement agreement with a New Jersey contractor after a worker suffered a fatal fall at a Bayonne worksite in October 2023. 

PORTLAND, OR – After a two-day bench trial, the U.S. Department of Labor obtained a federal court judgment that orders the U.S. Postal Service to pay $141,307 in lost wages and damages for emotional distress suffered to a probationary mail carrier who the agency fired after they reported an on-the-job injury to their supervisor and filed an accident report. 

CHICAGO – Joshua Herion, a Waukegan roofing contractor who has routinely endangered employees by ignoring federal workplace standards and penalties assesses for its violations since 2014, has paid $365,576 in fines and interest, after the U.S. Department of Labor moved to seize the employer’s assets as part of the department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration debt collection program.

WASHINGTON – The Department of Labor today announced a final rule from its Occupational Safety and Health Administration that will update the current Hazard Communication Standard to better protect workers by improving the amount and quality of information on labels and safety data sheets and allow workers and first responders to react more quickly in an emergency. The updates take effect on July 19, 2024. 

CINCINNATI – Zwanenberg Food Group USA Inc., one of the world’s leading suppliers of processed foods, agrees to pay $1.7 million in federal penalties and invest $1.9 million in safety improvements at its Cincinnati plant to resolve hazards found during several investigations by the Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration. 

WAUKEGAN, IL – Alleging that K.L.F. Enterprises — a Chicago demolition subcontractor — knew it was exposing its employees and others to the serious dangers of asbestos at a Waukegan work site, the U.S. Department of Labor has cited the company for 36 safety and health violations after a federal investigation. 

BRAINTREE, MA – The U.S. Department of Labor has determined that a Watertown roofing contractor again violated federal regulations for fall protections, following a workplace safety investigation into how an employee suffered fatal injuries after falling about 27 feet as they tried to carry materials and climb a ladder jack scaffold at a Brighton work site in September 2023.

ORLANDO, FL – For the third time in five years, a federal investigation has found the operator of multiple psychiatric and rehabilitation facilities, has had workers seriously injured or killed in violent patient attacks, including an employee who suffered serious injuries caused by a patient at a Melbourne location.

WASHINGTON – The Department of Labor has taken an important step in addressing the dangers of workplace heat and moved closer to publishing a proposed rule to reducing the significant health risks of heat exposure for U.S. workers in outdoor and indoor settings.