March 4, 2015

OSHA News Release: Core-Mark International must reinstate, pay more than $230K to employee fired for voicing driver safety concerns [03/04/2015]

PHOENIX — An employee who raised concerns that a truck driver employed by Core-Mark International of Phoenix had exceeded the legally allowed maximum number of driving hours must be reinstated immediately and paid more than $230,000 in back wages and compensatory damages, the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration has ordered.

March 4, 2015

OSHA News Brief: OSHA co-sponsors worker safety and health conference with Sauk Valley Community College, March 10, in Dixon, Illinois [03/04/2015]

Who: Aurora Office of the Occupational Safety and Health AdministrationSauk Valley Community College

What: OSHA Safety Day Training Conference

When: Tuesday, March 10, 7:30 a.m. – 3 p.m. CST

Where: Sauk Valley Community College 173 Illinois Route 2 Dixon, IL

March 4, 2015

OSHA News Release: US Labor Department sues Idaho Falls school district after employee is fired for raising concerns about asbestos removal [03/04/2015]

SEATTLE — When an employee raises concerns about the dangers of asbestos in a school, you would expect them to be commended and not terminated. After questioning whether the timeline of a construction project at a school in Idaho Falls School District 91 allowed for safe removal of asbestos, a district employee was out of a job. Now, the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration has stepped in to protect that worker's rights.

March 3, 2015

OSHA News Brief: Auburn, Alabama contractor exposes workers to cave-in hazards; fails to use safety measures to prevent excavation collapse [03/03/2015]

Employer name: D&J Enterprises, Inc.

Inspection site: 2151 Interstate Drive Opelika, Alabama 36801

Date inspection initiated: The Occupational Safety and Health Administration initiated the Jan. 14, 2015 inspection as part of the agency's National Emphasis Program on Trenching and Excavation.

March 3, 2015

OSHA News Release: Untrained worker suffers fatal electrocution at H.M. Richards Inc. [03/03/2015]

GUNTOWN, Miss. — Raymond Marvin Reece was a husband and father who enjoyed pleasures like family boating trips, camping and stock-car racing. Tragically, the 46-year-old maintenance worker at H.M. Richards Inc. was fatally electrocuted on Oct. 1, 2014, as he disconnected wiring on a saw at the company's temporary facility on Towery Road in Guntown.

March 3, 2015

OSHA News Brief: Blocked exits, electrical hazards found after worker electrocuted at distribution warehouse in Dayton, N.J. [03/03/2015]

Employer name and location: Seldat Distribution Inc., 15 Thatcher Road, Dayton, New Jersey.

Date investigation initiated: The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration initiated an investigation on Sept. 11, 2014, in response to a referral from the South Brunswick Fire Marshall reporting that an employee was electrocuted by an improperly wired, powered conveyer system.

March 3, 2015

OSHA News Brief: OSHA cites Toledo Refining Company following September fire [03/03/2015]

Employer name: Toledo Refining Company LLC

Investigation site: 1819 Woodville Road, Oregon, Ohio

Date investigation initiated and what prompted inspection: On Sept. 2, 2014, the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration's Toledo Area Office initiated an inspection of the petroleum refinery after a fire occurred in a heater at the facility, used to process crude oil. The refinery sustained some minor damage but no injuries were reported.

March 3, 2015

OSHA News Release: Bronx hair salon fired employee who warned co-workers of formaldehyde hazards, suit alleges [03/03/2015]

NEW YORK — All a receptionist at Salon Zoë hair salon wanted to do was make her fellow employees aware of health hazards associated with products containing formaldehyde that were regularly used by haircutters and stylists at the business in the Riverdale section of the Bronx. Her employer responded by firing her.

March 2, 2015

OSHA News Release: Court bans Mike Neri Sewer and Water Contractor from excavating work [03/02/2015]

Elk Grove Village, Illinois-based contractor refuses to abide by OSHA standards

March 2, 2015

OSHA News Brief: OSHA cites Affordable Exteriors for 7th time in 10 years for failing to provide fall protection to roofers [03/02/2015]

Company has failed to address previously issued OSHA citations, pay penalties

Employer name: Affordable Exteriors Inc., 17118 Harney Street, Omaha, Nebraska

Investigation site: 20505 Taylor Street, Elkhorn, Nebraska

March 2, 2015

OSHA News Release: OSHA fines US Minerals more than $113K for repeatedly exposing workers to dangerous machinery, falls and chemical hazards [03/02/2015]

ROBERTS, Wis. — Two years after pledging to address health and safety violations in a corporate settlement agreement after workers were exposed to serious machine, fall and respiratory hazards at its facilities around the country, U.S. Minerals Inc. employees in Roberts were faced with the same hazards, a September 2014 U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration inspection found.

March 2, 2015

OSHA News Release: Employees avert explosion, fire and other dangers after solvent spill at freight terminal exposes employer's lack of readiness [03/02/2015]

BRIDGEPORT, Conn. — Employees at a Wallingford freight shipping terminal faced dangerous chemical, fire and explosion hazards on Oct. 6, 2014, as they tried to contain a highly flammable and explosive chemical spill without proper training and personal protective equipment, U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration investigators have determined.

February 26, 2015

OSHA News Release: Federal judge orders US Postal Service to pay employee $229K in damages for whistleblower retaliation [02/26/2015]

SEATTLE — He started working for the U.S. Postal Service as a mail carrier in 1995. Managers praised his work consistently and regularly promoted him, eventually to management positions. His career led him to become a Postal Service safety specialist, where he excelled as he provided safety advice at more than 300 small postal facilities and area offices throughout Washington. In 2008, everything changed after the safety specialist dared to help a co-worker stand up for her rights.

February 26, 2015

OSHA News Release: Duane Reade Manhattan 6th Avenue store exposes employees to fire and crushing hazards from blocked exits and carelessly piled stock [02/26/2015]

NEW YORK — Employees of a Duane Reade store on 6th Avenue in Manhattan would have been unable to exit the store swiftly and safely in the event of a fire or other emergency, a September 2014 inspection by the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration found. As a result, OSHA has cited the company for one repeated and four serious violations of workplace safety standards. The retailer faces $77,400 in proposed fines.

February 26, 2015

OSHA News Release: A & D Wood Products workers face amputation and explosion risks at Elida, Ohio, wood pallet manufacturing facility [02/26/2015]

ELIDA, Ohio — An employee complaint led inspectors from the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration to a wood pallet manufacturing facility in Elida operated by A & D Wood Products, where they found workers at risk of amputation, explosion and other life-threatening hazards.

February 25, 2015

OSHA News Brief: For the fourth time in 4 years, Massachusetts roofing contractor cited for exposing employees to potentially fatal falls [02/25/2015]

OSHA proposes $43,560 in fines for William Trahant Jr. Construction, Inc. of Lynn

Employer name: William Trahant, Jr. Construction, Inc., roofing contractor, Lynn, Mass.

Inspection site: 86 Congress St., Salem, Mass. 01970

Date inspection initiated: OSHA's Andover Area Office began an inspection on Oct. 27, 2014, in response to a complaint.

February 25, 2015

OSHA News Brief: Lack of protective equipment leaves employees of Madison, New Jersey, manufacturer exposed to amputation hazards, finds OSHA [02/25/2015]

Employer name and location: EP Heller Co., which manufactures and services carbide steel cutting tools, is located at 21-25 Samson Ave. in Madison, New Jersey.

Date investigation initiated: The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration initiated an investigation on Oct. 8, 2014, in response to a complaint.

February 24, 2015

OSHA News Brief: Bentley Laboratories exposed temporary workers to chemical, noise and machine hazards [02/24/2015]

Employer name and location: Bentley Laboratories LLC, which manufactures products for the beauty and pharmaceutical industries, is located in the Raritan Center at 111 Fieldcrest Avenue in Edison, New Jersey. Joulé Clinical & Scientific Staffing Solutions, a division of System One, provides staffing services to Bentley Laboratories and is headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

As many as 50 temporary workers were on site during peak season at Bentley's manufacturing facility in Edison.

February 24, 2015

OSHA News Brief: Kingspan Benchmark faces $67,900 in OSHA penalties for exposing workers to amputation hazards at Columbus, Ohio, manufacturing facility [02/24/2015]

Employer name: Kingspan Insulated Panels operating as Kingspan Benchmark

Investigation site: 720 Marion Road, Columbus, Ohio

Corporate address: 726 Summerhill Drive, Deland, Florida