January 29, 2024

Madison ice cream plant cited for violating multiple safety standards after federal investigators respond to report of ammonia release

MADISON, WI ‒ Responding to a report of workers being exposed to anhydrous ammonia, federal investigators found a Madison ice cream plant lacked sufficient process safety management procedures to control the release of hazardous chemicals. Exposure to anhydrous ammonia, used in the refrigeration process, can cause respiratory injuries and burns to the skin and eyes. 

January 26, 2024

US Labor Department cites Silver Creek plumbing contractor after 34-year-old employee’s fatal fall, exposure to hydrogen sulfide

ROME, GA – A Silver Creek plumbing contractor could have prevented a 34-year-old employee’s June 2023 fatal fall at a Rome work site by following required safety procedures, a U.S. Department of Labor investigation found.

January 24, 2024

Federal court holds Nebraska contractor in contempt, orders daily fine until he complies with US Department of Labor subpoena

LINCOLN, NE – A federal court has issued an order holding a Nebraska roofing contractor — who has stalled federal investigators for nearly a year — in contempt of court and imposing a fine of $100 a day if he fails to comply with a subpoena to provide the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration with documents necessary for an investigation of an employee's fall off a residential roof in Lincoln in February 2023.

January 24, 2024

US Department of Labor investigation of worker’s finger-tip amputation finds Ohio instrument manufacturer again violated safety standards

EAST LAKE, OH ‒ Responding to the sixth amputation injury reported by an Ohio musical instrument manufacturer in the past eight years, federal investigators found employees at the East Lake facility were injured at four times the industry average rate in the past five years. 

January 19, 2024

US Labor Department investigation finds Ohio food warehouse exposed workers to ergonomic hazards

FAIRFIELD, OH – Federal inspectors examining injury and illness records at a Fairfield food services warehouse found workers suffered severe injuries at nearly four times the average rate for their industry, with a high percentage of these injuries categorized as ergonomic musculoskeletal disorders.

January 18, 2024

US Department of Labor investigation of construction worker’s fatal injuries finds Stoughton contractor failed to follow required safety procedures

BRAINTREE, MA – A federal investigation has found that a Stoughton general contractor could have prevented an employee from suffering fatal injuries in June 2023 if the employer had followed required safety regulations and trained workers on the safe operation of heavy equipment at a Brockton work site.

January 18, 2024

US Department of Labor investigation of worker amputation finds Ohio carpet manufacturer again ignored safety standards

MONROE, OH ‒ Responding to an employer report that a worker sustained a partial finger amputation while conducting cleaning operations at an Ohio automotive carpet manufacturer, federal safety inspectors found workers were exposed to operating machine parts as they cleared excess fiber material off chains, sprockets and other equipment. 

January 17, 2024

US Department of Labor finds electric vehicle battery manufacturer exposed employees to unsafe nickel levels, other mixed metals at Commerce plant

ATLANTA – A global electric vehicle battery manufacturer exposed employees at its Commerce plant to serious and potentially disabling safety and health hazards, a U.S. Department of Labor workplace safety inspection found.

The department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration cited SK Battery America Inc. with six serious violations and one other-than-serious violation after finding the company:

January 17, 2024

US Department of Labor cites Itasca parts manufacturer for multiple machine safety violations, exposing workers to amputation, other injuries

ITASCA, IL An investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration found an Itasca manufacturer failed to guard industrial equipment, develop a lockout/tagout program and train workers on machine safety procedures, exposing them to multiple injuries and amputation hazards. 

January 16, 2024

US Department of Labor cites Hattiesburg poultry facility after 16-year-old worker pulled into machine, suffers fatal injuries

HATTIESBURG, MS – For the second time in just over two years, a poultry processing plant in Hattiesburg has disregarded safety standards that have led to a worker’s death, this time a 16-year-old sanitation worker who was pulled into a machine, federal safety investigators found.   

January 12, 2024

Staten Island health center will pay $195K to former employee who reported concerns of risk of in-person staff meeting as pandemic grew

NEW YORK – In March 2020, as COVID-19 became a global pandemic, an employee of a Staten Island community health center asked permission to allow a regularly scheduled meeting to be held by teleconference – and then changed the format of the meeting to teleconference – rather than meeting in-person in a windowless conference room.

January 11, 2024

US Department of Labor launches program to stem fatalities, promote workplace safety in tree, landscape services industries

NEW YORK – The U.S. Department of Labor has launched a multi-year program to reduce worker fatalities and injuries in the tree and landscape services industries in New Jersey, New York, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. 

January 10, 2024

US Department of Labor finds Bradenton landscaper willfully endangered worker who drowned after being pinned underwater by riding mower

BRADENTON, FL – A 36-year-old mower operator drowned after the mower rolled over in a pond, pinning the worker underwater. Federal workplace safety inspectors determined the employer could have avoided the incident by following required safety measures outlined in the equipment operator’s manual.

January 9, 2024

Federal inspectors find Wisconsin sawmill continuing to expose employees to amputation hazards, other risks from unguarded machines

TIGERTON, WI – A U.S. Department of Labor follow-up inspection of Tigerton Lumber Co. found that the Wisconsin sawmill continued to expose many of its employees to amputation and other dangers. The inspection was part of a federal program for severe violators. The company was deemed a severe violator in 2019 after an investigation into how an employee suffered fatal injuries in 2018. 

January 8, 2024

US Department of Labor obtains decision to revoke Lynn contractor’s license for repeated defiance of safety regulations, failure to pay $300K in penalties

BOSTON – The Massachusetts Board of Building Regulations and Standards has revoked William Trahant’s construction supervisor’s license for at least two years as the result of a complaint filed by the U.S. Department of Labor citing seven separate citations issued to his company since 2014 for violating federal fall safety regulations, as well as his continued failure to pay more than $300,000 in related penalties.

January 5, 2024

US Department of Labor investigation into amputation injury finds Nebraska Beef Ltd. ignored federal safety standards

OMAHA, NE ‒ A federal investigation into how an employee suffered a serious hand injury at an Omaha beef processing plant in June 2023 identified more than a dozen willful and serious violations related to the company’s failures to protect its workers from numerous safety and health hazards.

January 5, 2024

Wisconsin roofing contractor faces $281K in proposed fines for again failing to protect employees from deadly fall hazards

APPLETON, WI – Federal workplace safety inspectors found an Appleton contractor once again ignoring the dangers of allowing employees to do residential roof work without required fall protection equipment and training designed to protect workers from the industry’s deadliest hazard: falls from elevation.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that, of 1,015 construction workers who suffered fatal on-the-job injuries in 2021, 379 of them died in falls. 

January 5, 2024

US Department of Labor cites Florida roofing contractor, home builder for subjecting workers to fall hazards at Boca Raton worksite

Employers:    All Phase Roofing Inc.

                        1313 S. Killian Drive, Lake Park, FL 33403

 

                        Lennar Homes LLC

January 3, 2024

Pepsi Guam Bottling agrees to pay $132K in penalties, implement enhanced workplace safety program after exposing workers to amputation hazards

TAMUNING, GUAM The U.S. Department of Labor has reached a settlement agreement with Pepsi Guam Bottling after an inspection by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration found the company exposed employees to amputation and other serious injuries.

December 28, 2023

Illinois contractor continues to expose construction workers to deadly fall hazards; employees observed in danger twice within a month in subdivision

SAVOY, IL – Twice within a month, an Illinois roofing contractor — cited previously more than 20 times for violating federal workplace safety regulations — was again found exposing employees to falls as they did residential framing work on houses under construction in Savoy. Falls remain the construction industry’s leading cause of death.