CHICAGO ‒ A 29-year-old worker suffered the amputation of a fingertip while reassembling a pump at a Hostess Brands LLC facility in Chicago, an injury the employer could have prevented by ensuring to shut down and lockout the equipment to prevent it from unexpectedly starting during maintenance, a U.S. Department of Labor investigation found.

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

Safety and Health Administration

GURNEE, IL ‒ The operator of a specialty frozen pizza manufacturing plant in Illinois could have prevented the death of a 29-year-old sanitation worker by following proper machine safety procedures, a federal investigation has found.

JACKSONVILLE, FL – The findings of a federal workplace safety investigation are shocking — workers  assaulted, confined by patients, and suffering broken bones and concussions and wounds from being scratched, bitten, punched and kicked — at a Jacksonville behavioral health and substance disorder facility.

Participant:   Raytheon Company

Tewksbury, Massachusetts

Description:   Raytheon employs about 3,200 workers at its Tewksbury product testing and design center. The center includes engineering support laboratories for integrated defense systems.

ABBOTSFORD, WI ‒ The operator of a north central Wisconsin meat and sausage manufacturing plant might have spared two employees from suffering serious hand injuries by following required machine safety standards, a U.S. Department of Labor investigation found.

DENVER ‒ The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has recognized 16 Colorado employers for recording zero injury or illness incidents in 2022.

WASHINGTON – The familiar sounds of weed trimmers and lawn mowers and the sights of landscaping workers are familiar sights in many neighborhoods, office parks and other locations. For people doing these jobs, including young people employed for the summer, the work exposes them to hazards such as moving machine parts, heat exposure, falling trees and toxic chemicals.

ORLANDO, FL – A Florida-based entertainment company could have prevented a deadly fire and explosion at an Orlando warehouse in December 2022 in which four employees perished and a fifth was left hospitalized for months with near-fatal injuries, a federal workplace safety investigation has found.

WASHINGTON – As Canadian wildfires continue to produce unhealthy air pollution in parts of the country, the U.S. Department of Labor announced that its Occupational Safety and Health Administration is offering employers important information to help protect outdoor workers from exposure to wildfire health hazards.

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

Safety and Health Administration

SIOUX FALLS, SD – A federal whistleblower investigation found a South Dakota-based helicopter ambulance servicer retaliated against a mechanic who reported safety concerns and filed a complaint with the Federal Aviation Administration.

What::            Presentation of OSHA Region VIII Voluntary Protection Programs’ Leadership Award

Who:               Joseph Sviatko, operations and maintenance technician

Black Hills Energy, Cheyenne Prairie Generating Station

Cheyenne, Wyoming.

ORLAND PARK, IL – For the seventh time since 2015, federal workplace safety inspectors have cited an Oswego contractor who refuses to protect carpenters working at elevations, as required by federal law.

DENVER ‒ The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health is recognizing the continued commitment to employees’ well-being by three Wyoming employers – Black Hills Energy, Cheyenne Prairie Generating Station in Cheyenne; Phillips 66, Casper Station in Casper; and Phillips 66, Rock Springs Terminal in Rock Springs – all of which recorded zero recordable injury or illness incidents in 2022. 

DENVER ‒ The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health is recognizing the continued commitment to employees’ well-being by three North Dakota employers – Bayer Northern Production Company, West Fargo, CF Industries in Grand Forks and NuStar Energy, Central East Region in Jamestown – all of which recorded zero recordable injury or illness incidents in 2022. 

Participant:         Phillips 66 Bulk Petroleum Storage Facility and Terminal

Casper, Wyoming

What:                   OSHA Region VIII Voluntary Protection Programs’ Decades of Excellence Award

PEWAUKEE, WI – Federal workplace safety inspectors opened an investigation at a Pewaukee Dollar Tree store in January 2023 in response to an employee’s concerns about unsafe work conditions.

BUFFALO GROVE, IL ‒ Down about seven feet from the surface, the 27-year-old worker of a Burr Ridge plumbing contracting business was fixing a residential water line damaged during excavation when the trench’s walls collapsed, crushing him fatally in December 2022 at a Buffalo Grove work site. Another employee in the trench with him at the time escaped the trench unharmed.