BOSTON, MA – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has determined that Universal Trucking Solutions LLC – a defunct Hartford, Connecticut, commercial motor carrier – and its co-owner, Juan Ramirez, violated the whistleblower protections of the Surface Transportation Assistance Act (STAA).

BRANSON, MO ‒ The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited Royal Oak Enterprises for exposing employees to multiple safety and health hazards at company facilities in Branson and Summersville, Missouri. The charcoal manufacturer faces $339,702 in penalties.

PHILADELPHIA, PA – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has launched an initiative to have agency inspections focus on reducing workplace hazards that can lead to amputation injuries for workers in Delaware’s manufacturing industry.

DALLAS, TX – The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the Damage Prevention Council of Texas (DPC) signed an alliance designed to educate employers and employees in all 254 counties in Texas about the hazards associated with trenching and excavation.

MORGANTOWN, WV – The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and PJ Dick Inc. have partnered to promote worker safety during the construction of Reynolds Hall – the future home to the new John Chambers College of Business and Economics at West Virginia University – in Morgantown, West Virginia.

WILMINGTON, DE – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited Dana Rail Care for workplace safety and health hazards at the facility in Wilmington, Delaware. The company faces $371,276 in penalties.

PHENIX CITY, AL – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited Jaime Martinez Hernandez – a residential framing contractor based in Phenix City, Alabama – for exposing employees to fall and struck-by hazards at two Alabama worksites. The contractor faces $240,880 in penalties.

CUMMING, GA – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited Garick LLC – operating as Smith Garden Products – for exposing employees to safety hazards at the Cumming, Georgia, facility. The manufacturer of specialty mulch products faces $148,867 in penalties.

NAPERVILLE, IL ‒ The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited DB Custom Carpentry LLC – based in Aurora, Illinois – for exposing employees to falls. The homebuilder faces penalties of $333,968 for three willful and one repeat safety violations.

ALBANY, NY – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited Nonni’s Foods LLC for exposing employees to falls and other hazards at the Ferndale, New York, facility. The manufacturer of premium cookies faces $221,257 in penalties.

FORT VALLEY, GA – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited Pearson Farms LLC for safety violations after an employee suffered fatal injuries at the farm’s post-harvest operations facility in Fort Valley, Georgia. The farm is facing $128,004 in penalties.

DENVER, CO – The U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado has ordered Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway Company (BNSF) to pay $696,173 in lost back and future wages to a former employee who reported track defects, bringing the total paid to the whistleblower to more than $1.74 million.

CAMP HILL, PA – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited Cleveland Brothers Inc. – doing business as CB HYMAC – for exposing workers to hexavalent chromium fumes and other safety hazards at the company’s shop in Camp Hill, Pennsylvania. OSHA cited the company, which provides hydraulic service and repair, machining and chroming services, for one willful violation and 18 serious and two other-than-serious citations. The company faces $280,874 in penalties.

NAPLES, FL – After an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, Fort Myers Division, has sentenced Stalin Rene Barahona – former owner of the now-dissolved SB Framing Services Inc. in Naples, Florida – to 30 days in prison. Barahona pleaded guilty to one count of willfully violating federal fall protection standards. He will begin serving his sentence on Feb. 26, 2020.

CONCORD, NH – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited Quartz and Stone Creations of New Hampshire LLC for crushing and other hazards following an employee fatality on July 19, 2019. OSHA cited the Northwood, New Hampshire, stone products manufacturer for 12 serious and six other-than-serious violations, which faces a total of $87,516 in penalties.

AUGUSTA, ME – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) recently signed a two-year alliance with the Maine Department of Labor, Workplace Safety and Health Division (SafetyWorks!), and the Maine School of Masonry to promote worker safety in the masonry industry.

DEARBORN HEIGHTS, MI – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has determined that the Dearborn Heights School District violated whistleblower statutes by unjustly disciplining, publicly discrediting and terminating an employee who reported unsafe working conditions to federal and state agencies.

HOOVER, AL – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited two Alabama contractors – OLA Inc. and Calloway Inc. – for exposing employees to excavation hazards after two workers suffered fatal injuries in a trench collapse on a residential project in Hoover, Alabama. The contractors face $88,482 in penalties.

HAMILTON, OH – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited Midwest Ammunition LLC for 19 serious safety and health violations after one employee suffered a fatal injury, and another suffered serious injuries in a fire and explosion on July 22, 2019, at the Hamilton, Ohio, company. OSHA proposed penalties of $211,768.

BALA CYNWYD, PA – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited Webb Contractor Corp. for exposing employees to fall hazards at three separate worksites in the Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania, area. The roofing contractor, based in Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania, faces $605,371 in penalties.