GAINESVILLE, GA –En el 28 de enero de 2021, seis trabajadores fueron a trabajar a una planta de procesamiento de aves de Gainesville sin saber que no regresarían a casa. Justo después de que comenzara su turno, un congelador de la planta funcionó mal, liberando nitrógeno líquido sin color e olor en el aire de la planta, desplazando el oxígeno en la habitación.

MOBILE, AL – On Jan. 27, a 22-year-old apprentice atop a crane bridge 30 feet in the air suffered fatal injuries when he became caught in a crane trolley’s drive shaft, a tragedy that federal inspectors say could have been prevented.                      

HASBROUCK HEIGHTS, NJ – A Bergen County contractor who agreed to make safety improvements after federal safety inspections in 2019 identified nine violations with proposed penalties of $121,687 has instead violated its settlement agreement with the U.S. Department of Labor. Following inspections in 2020 and 2021, the company now faces $600,741 in penalties for 10 more violations.

MONETT, MO – Three employers at a Missouri residential nursing facility exposed workers and residents to asbestos hazards and failed to ensure safe removal of the known carcinogen during a flooring replacement project, a federal workplace safety inspection alleges.

EL PASO, TX – An El Paso metal stamping manufacturer with a history of workplace safety violations failed again to protect its workers from the dangers of moving machine parts. As a result, a worker suffered the amputation of two fingers inside a 500-ton hydraulic press.  

NORTHBROOK, IL – A federal court has approved the settlement of a U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration whistleblower investigation that determined a Northbrook waste management company violated federal law when it retaliated against a former truck driver who reported a workplace injury and raised concerns to the company that an unrepaired truck was unsafe to operate.

NORTH RICHLAND HILLS, TX – The U.S. Department of Labor has taken legal action against two North Texas dentists on behalf of a dental hygienist and a dental assistant who were not reinstated after expressing concerns about what coronavirus safety measures would be in place when the practice reopened in spring 2020.  

SEATTLE – As temperatures rise in Washington, Oregon and Idaho, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration reminds employers to protect their employees when they work in hot weather.

OSHA’s message is simple: Water. Rest. Shade. To protect their employees, employers should:

SEATTLE – Con la subida de las temperaturas en Washington, Oregón y Idaho, la Administración de Seguridad y Salud Ocupacional del Departamento de Trabajo de EE.UU. recuerda a los empleadores que protejan a sus trabajadores expuestos a temperaturas de calor extremo.

El mensaje de OSHA es básico: Agua. Descanso. Sombra. Para proteger a sus trabajadores, los empleadores deben:

AVON, CO – A Colorado state court has sentenced the owner of an Avon construction company to jail and ordered restitution for the family of a 50-year-old company worker who suffered fatal injuries in a preventable trench collapse at a Granby work site in June 2018.

HUNTSVILLE, AL – On Jan. 15 an employee of a Huntsville contracting company entered a trench greater than 5 feet in depth to work on underground utility pipes.

MILWAUKEE – Despite two 2020 inspections that identified dangerous machine and noise hazards, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has found a Milwaukee metal fabricating facility continues to put its workers’ safety and health at risk.

CHICAGO – To combat the dangers workers face in grain handling, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the Ohio On-Site Consultation Program, the Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation and the Ohio Agribusiness Association signed an alliance on July 9, 2021.

BUFFALO – On July 7, 2020, 35-year-old Timothy Barber collapsed at the end of his shift after working on the Genesee River Bridge Project in Geneseo. Treated for heat stress and heat exhaustion, he died from hyperthermia on his second day on the job.

ATLANTA – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration urges response crews and residents to recognize the hazards created by flooding, power loss, structural damage, fallen trees and storm debris in areas affected by Tropical Storm Elsa.

NEW ORLEANS – An investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has found that CSX Transportation violated the Federal Railroad Safety Act and demonstrated a pattern of retaliation after firing a worker in December 2019 for reporting safety concerns. OSHA ordered the company to pay $71,976 in back wages, interest, and damages, and $150,000 in punitive damages.

MOUNT HOLLY, NJ – Following a coronavirus outbreak in March that led to the deaths of two workers, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration found that a Mount Holly-based healthcare provider failed to implement a required coronavirus prevention program at two of its locations.

ADRIAN, MO – Had MFA Enterprises Inc. – operating as West Central Agri Services – addressed potential dust ignition sources, an explosion that seriously injured an employee and caused the destruction of the main elevator at an Adrian grain loading facility might not have happened. OSHA cited the grain-handling facility for one willful and six serious safety violations, and proposed penalties of $215,525.

LANSING, MI – After an account manager continually expressed concerns and objections about a proposed accounting practice they believed to be illegal, Equistar Chemicals L.P. in Lansing placed the account manager on a performance improvement program and, ultimately, fired them.

PLAINS TOWNSHIP, PA – The U.S. Department of Labor has filed suit against a Luzerne County paper products manufacturing company and its owner after they fired a worker for raising safety concerns and asking several times for safety gloves to operate a shredder and baler. Prior to the employee suffering injury while operating the machine, their supervisor denied multiple requests for protective equipment.