ATLANTA – The U.S. Department of Labor is joining with Georgia’s leading construction organizations to promote safety for people employed in work zones near moving traffic and encouraging industry employers to take a break to educate workers on how to protect themselves from harm during 2024 National Work Zone Awareness Week, April 15–19.

PALATKA, FL – As he had many other days, the morning shift welder arrived at 5 a.m. to work at St. John’s Ship Building Inc. in Palatka on Aug. 28, 2023. Tasked with doing some fabrication work in a 4-foot by 8-foot space in a ship’s hull, the employee began work unaware that fatal suffocation would soon end his life. 

Employer name:             Trader Joe’s Co. 

Investigation site:         5910 South University Blvd.

                                                 Greenwood Village, CO 80121

ATLANTA – For the second time in less than a year, federal workplace safety inspectors have found a global electric vehicle battery manufacturer exposing employees to serious safety and health hazards at its Commerce plant, after workers suffered potentially permanent respiratory damage in an October 2023 lithium battery fire.

ST. LOUIS – Federal workplace safety inspectors found a Missouri roofing contractor again risking the safety of its employees by failing to protect them against the construction industry’s deadliest hazard — falls from heights— at five residential worksites in Wentzville in October and November 2023. 

AUSTIN, TX – An Austin subsidiary of one of the nation’s largest producers of modular and manufactured homes faces $272,479 in penalties after federal investigators found the company exposing employees to more than two dozen serious violations during an October 2023 inspection.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced a final rule clarifying the rights of employees to authorize a representative to accompany an Occupational Safety and Health Administration compliance officer during an inspection of their workplace will be published in the Federal Register on April 1.

SAN FRANCISCO ‒ The U.S. Department of Labor has ordered a former senior vice president and two managers employed by PrimeLending to pay $35,000 in emotional damages and the legal fees of two California employees who the company fired illegally after they reported a branch manager pressured them to pass on fees to loan applicants caused by the company’s internal processing delays. 

SHELBY, OH ‒ Despite citations from the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration for similar hazards at its Shelby facility in 2022, ArcelorMittal Tubular Products USA LLC — a subsidiary of one of North America’s largest steel suppliers — failed to protect a 60-year-old employee from severe injuries after they became caught in a pinch point created by a bundle of steel tubes and a rotating roller conveyor in December 2023.

BELLEFONTAINE, OH ‒ In October 2023, following the receipt of a complaint, U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration inspectors opened an inspection at an Ohio industrial hose manufacturer’s Bellefontaine plant. This was OSHA’s eighth investigation into HBD Thermoid Inc. since 2013. 

CULLMAN, AL – A 38-year-old worker at a Cullman manufacturing plant suffered fatal injuries after getting caught inside a molding machine, a fatality the employer could have prevented by following established safety rules, a U.S. Department of Labor workplace safety investigation found.

HO-HO-KUS, NJ – Vigorous litigation by the U.S. Department of Labor has convinced a New York roofing company to stop contesting the egregious willful and other citations it received and the $687,536 penalty assessed after a 2022 workplace safety investigation at a Ho-Ho-Kus worksite. 

Employer:      Dean Sausage Co. Inc.

                        3750 Pleasant Valley Road

                        Attalla, AL 35954

WASHINGTON ‒ Home of the iconic Corn Palace — a symbol of the region’s healthy agricultural climate since 1892 — Mitchell, South Dakota will be the host location on March 25 for the national kick-off of the 2024 Stand Up 4 Grain Safety Week.   

GAINESVILLE, GA – The U.S. Department of Labor has filed a federal court complaint against a Lawrenceville pesticide and agricultural chemical manufacturer after the company allegedly terminated a worker’s employment in retaliation for filing a safety and health complaint with the department. 

OKLAHOMA CITY – An Oklahoma City employer’s failure to follow federal safety procedures left a 30-year-old worker suffering fatal asphyxiation as they tried to make repairs inside a water tank at a McClain County wellsite in September 2023, a federal investigation has found.

HOUSTON – A Houston-area contractor’s willful disregard for required safety procedures contributed to an 18-year-old worker fatality when a 15-foot trench wall collapsed on him near Fulshear in September 2023, a federal investigation has found. 

NEW YORK – An East Patchogue construction contractor will pay $144,000 in penalties and implement enhanced compliance actions and policies to reduce workplace hazards for its companies’ and subcontractors’ employees as part of a stipulated settlement agreement with the U.S. Department of Labor.

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

What:             2024 Central Alabama Construction Safety Conference and Expo

When:             March 14, 2024

VINELAND, NJ – A Vineland subsidiary of Hanover Foods Corp., a prominent northeast food manufacturer, allowed workers to service and clean equipment without having procedures in place to stop machinery from starting unexpectedly, a recent federal investigation has found.