March 27, 2015

OSHA News Brief: Florida-based contractor exposes its workers to 200-foot falls and silica dust at two work sites; OSHA cites company for serious safety and health hazards [03/27/2015]

Employer name: Maxim Construction Group Corp. of Hallandale Beach, Florida.

Inspection sites: 230 174th Street Sunny Isles Beach, Florida 33160 1400 S. Ocean Drive, Hollywood, Florida 33019

Date investigation initiated: OSHA initiated the October 2, 2014 safety and health inspections after receiving complaints alleging fall hazards at two work sites.

March 26, 2015

OSHA News Brief: New Hampshire electrical contractor exposes employee to fall and electric shock hazards at Concord jobsite [03/26/2015]

Employer name: Daniels Electric Corp., an electrical contractor based in Gilford, New Hampshire.

Inspection site: 8 Loudon Rd., Concord, New Hampshire 03301.

Date inspection initiated: The inspection began Dec. 8, 2014. An OSHA inspector driving by the worksite observed a Daniels Electric Corp. employee without fall protection replacing a light fixture on the roof atop the Buffalo Wild Wings Restaurant. An inspection was immediately opened.

March 24, 2015

OSHA News Release: US Steel Corp.'s safety shortcuts lead to fatal explosion [03/24/2015]

FAIRFIELD, Ala. — Like most of us, Leo Bridges and Edward Bryant left for work one day in September 2014, probably thinking about some rest and relaxation when the shift ended. Like many, they figured their managers and employer would ensure they were safe at work. Bridges and Bryant were wrong; they were caught in a fiery explosion in the Flux Building, which U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration inspectors said occurred because U.S. Steel Corp. put workers at risk, so as not to slow production at its Fairfield facility.

March 23, 2015

OSHA News Release: Edsal Manufacturing repeatedly allows safety hazards, faces more than $294K in fines [03/23/2015]

CHICAGO — Left unguarded, dangerous machines with moving parts cause hundreds of thousands of workers to suffer finger, hand or foot amputations and other serious injuries each year in the United States. Despite these dangers, one Chicago-based manufacturer has repeatedly ignored the risks and has been found in violation of safety and health standards four times in the last five years.

March 23, 2015

OSHA News Release: Dollar General store allows blocked and locked exits, fire and other hazards, faces more than $83K in fines for repeated safety violations [03/23/2015]

BOWDON, Ga. — Dollar General Corp. has been cited again by the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration, this time for four repeated safety violations found in a December 2014 inspection of the Bowdon store at 203 Wedowee St. OSHA initiated the inspection after receiving a complaint and has proposed penalties of $83,050.

March 19, 2015

OSHA News Release: Fired for reporting hazards, whistleblower wins $33K settlement [03/19/2015]

DU QUOIN, Ill. — A truck driver, who was fired the morning after he filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration alleging unsafe working conditions, will receive $33,000 under terms of a settlement agreement. The agreement resolves a lawsuit brought against employers Perry Ridge Landfill Inc., Panther City Hauling and their corporate officer, Joseph Mazza, for violating the whistleblower provisions of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970.

March 19, 2015

OSHA News Brief: Workers at a Houston construction site exposed to excavation hazards [03/19/2015]

Employer name: SER Construction Partners Ltd.

Site: Houston, Texas

Date initiated: OSHA's Houston North Area Office began the investigation in January under the National Emphasis Program on Trenching and Excavations.

March 19, 2015

OSHA News Brief: OSHA cites Georgia wood products manufacturer for exposing workers to fire, amputation and unprotected equipment hazards [03/19/2015]

Employer name: K.W. McAvoy & Son Inc.

Inspection site: 3500 Greensboro Road, Washington, Georgia 30673

Date investigation initiated: OSHA initiated the investigation on Nov. 5, 2014, after the agency received a complaint related to safety and health hazards at the facility.

March 19, 2015

OSHA News Brief: Queensbury, New York, packaging materials manufacturer exposes employees to fire, explosion and electrical hazards [03/19/2015]

Employer name: Pregis Corp., a manufacturer of foam, paper and plastic packaging materials

Inspection site: 300 Lower Warren St., Queensbury, New York 12804

March 18, 2015

OSHA News Release: Safety Stand-Down puts the brakes on injuries at Georgia road sites [03/18/2015]

ATLANTA — The Federal Highway Administration, the state of Georgia and local government organizations are partnering with the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration to sponsor a one-hour Safety Stand-Down at construction sites in Georgia in conjunction with National Highway Work Zone Awareness Week from March 23-27.

March 17, 2015

OSHA News Release: Culture of retaliation: Union Pacific Railroad disciplines locomotive engineer for reporting workplace injury, owes worker $350K in damages [03/17/2015]

NORTH PLATTE, Neb. — For the third time since 2011, the Union Pacific Railroad has violated the Federal Railroad Safety Act at its yard in North Platte by disciplining employees who reported workplace injuries and sought medical attention, the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration has found. Since 2001, the company has faced more than 200 whistleblower complaints nationwide.

March 17, 2015

OSHA News Release: Culture of retaliation: Union Pacific Railroad disciplines locomotive engineer for reporting workplace injury, owes worker $350K in damages [03/17/2015]

NORTH PLATTE, Neb. — For the third time since 2011, the Union Pacific Railroad has violated the Federal Railroad Safety Act at its yard in North Platte by disciplining employees who reported workplace injuries and sought medical attention, the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration has found. Since 2001, the company has faced more than 200 whistleblower complaints nationwide.

March 17, 2015

OSHA News Brief: Mt. Vernon Barge Services exposes workers to electrical, respiratory hazards [03/17/2015]

Employer name: Mt. Vernon Barge Services, Jeffersonville, Indiana

Investigation site: 5804 Utica Pike, Jeffersonville, Indiana

March 16, 2015

OSHA News Brief: OSHA cites Nova Southeastern University for exposing faculty to high levels of formaldehyde [03/16/2015]

Employer name: Nova Southeastern University

Inspection site: 3301 College Ave., Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33314

Date inspection initiated: The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration initiated the investigation on Nov. 5, 2014, after receiving a complaint about faculty in the anatomy lab being exposed to formaldehyde.

Inspection findings:

March 16, 2015

OSHA News Brief: Health Care Products Inc. exposes production workers to amputation hazards [03/16/2015]

Employer name: Health Care Products Inc.

Investigation site: 410 Nisco Street, Coldwater, Ohio

Date investigation initiated and what prompted inspection: On Nov. 25, 2014, the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration's Toledo Area Office initiated an inspection of the feminine hygiene product manufacturer after receiving a complaint alleging unsafe working conductions.

March 16, 2015

OSHA News Release: New York City Transit Authority retaliates against employee for participating in safety inspection and filing complaint, OSHA finds [03/16/2015]

NEW YORK — It began as a routine safety inspection in August 2012 at the New York City Transit Authority's Linden Shop maintenance facility in Brooklyn. It ended with the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration finding that the transit authority and one of its supervisors discriminated against an employee for exercising his safety rights under the National Transit Systems Security Act. As a result, OSHA has ordered the NYCTA and supervisor Mark Ruggerio to pay the employee $52,500 in damages and take other corrective action.

March 16, 2015

OSHA News Release: Bowling center worker dies after his hooded sweatshirt catches in pinsetter [03/16/2015]

FAIRFIELD, Ohio — A 53-year-old bowling alley worker was asphyxiated when his hooded sweatshirt was caught in a pinsetter at Northwest Lanes in Fairfield because the machine's operating parts were improperly exposed, an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration found.

March 16, 2015

OSHA News Release: World Kitchen exposes Corning, New York, employees to fire, fall, electrical, mechanical and other hazards, OSHA finds [03/16/2015]

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — World Kitchen LLC makes dinnerware for well-known brand names, such as Corelle and CorningWare. Less well-known is that workers at the company's Corning manufacturing plant have been exposed to a variety of hazards that put their health and safety at risk.

March 16, 2015

OSHA News Brief: USPS cited for using defective forklift at main post office in Des Moines [03/16/2015]

Employer name: United States Postal Service

Investigation site: Main Post Office, 1165 2nd Ave., Des Moines, Iowa

Date investigation initiated and what prompted inspection: On Oct. 2, 2014, the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration initiated an inspection of the main post office in Des Moines after receiving an employee complaint alleging that unsafe forklifts were being used at the facility.