April 6, 2021

OSHA fines New Jersey roofing contractor $201K for exposing employees to willful safety hazards at Mahwah, Elmwood Park worksites

TRENTON, NJ – Employers are required by law to correct hazardous conditions at their workplaces, but a Trenton-based contractor failed to comply with this requirement when one of its employees suffered serious injuries after the roof beneath him collapsed.

April 2, 2021

OSHA continúa investigando el incidente mortal ocurrido en enero en Foundation Food Group Services en Gainesville

ATLANTA – La Administración de Seguridad y Salud Ocupacional del Departamento de Trabajo de EE.UU. está activamente investigando el incidente en Foundation Food Group Services en Gainesville donde un escape de nitrógeno liquido mató a seis trabajadores el 28 de enero de 2021.  

April 2, 2021

OSHA continues investigation into January fatal incident at Foundation Food Group Services in Gainesville

ATLANTA –  The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration is actively investigating an incident at Foundation Food Group Services in Gainesville where a liquid nitrogen leak killed six workers on Jan. 28, 2021. 

April 1, 2021

OSHA, Austin Power Partners Construction, labor unions sign partnership to promote construction safety on O’Hare Airport Terminal 5 expansion project

CHICAGO – Major construction projects require continued coordination between the general contractor, subcontractors, tradesmen and others working on-site to complete the build on time and on budget. Getting the work done while protecting the safety and health of those on the job takes similar coordination, and the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration stands ready to assist.

April 1, 2021

New York-based petroleum carrier pays $375K to seaman fired for cooperating with barge explosion investigation

NEW YORK – A Long Island-based petroleum barge company and three former and current management officials have paid $375,000 in restitution to the brother of one of two seamen killed in a barge explosion off the coast of Texas. The seaman alleged the company fired him for cooperating with investigators and reporting safety concerns to the U.S. Coast Guard. The explosion occurred on Oct. 20, 2017, off Port Aransas aboard the Buster Bouchard/B. No. 255.

March 31, 2021

New York contractor agrees to cease digging excavations, pay $135K in penalties, after 2020 fatal Long Island trench collapse

NEW YORK – A Long Island superstructure, foundation and concrete company will pay $135,612 in penalties stemming from the collapse of an approximately 30-foot deep trench in Oyster Bay that led to the deaths of two workers.

March 29, 2021

OSHA cites Ohio production facility for exposing employees to dangerous confined space, machine, other hazards

OXFORD, OH – Without proper safety measures taken, gases and or vapors in a confined space may overcome a worker or a lack of oxygen may suffocate them. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that from 2011-2018, there were 1,030 confined space-related workers deaths.

March 26, 2021

OSHA cites Seneca Foods after worker suffers serious injuries after being struck by forklift at Wisconsin facility

RIPON, WI – A forklift struck and seriously injured a 60-year-old seasonal employee as she walked toward a pallet to label products for shipping at a Ripon facility where vegetables are canned for Libby’s and several other brands.

March 26, 2021

US Department of Labor files lawsuit alleging Texas hotel operator illegally fired worker who sought medical care for carbon monoxide exposure

HOUSTON – In January 2019, a worker at a Holiday Inn Express & Suites hotel in Waller alerted their employer that exposure to carbon monoxide made them ill and asked the employer to call an ambulance. In addition to refusing the worker’s request, the employer allegedly threatened to terminate the employee. After going to the hospital, the worker was terminated.

March 25, 2021

US Department of Labor files federal complaint seeking damages for whistleblower fired for reporting unsafe conditions at Missouri plant

BRIDGETON, MO – After a production operator at a carbon fiber manufacturer brought various safety concerns to management, he approached a third-party auditor reviewing operations at the company’s St. Peters facility with his concerns. The next day, his employer suspended him.

March 24, 2021

Worker’s injury at Fargo grain bin yields employer’s commitment to improve workplace safety, protect employees

FARGO, ND – A North Dakota seed production company has committed to changing its safety procedures and training following a worker’s severe and life-altering injury in 2020.

March 18, 2021

OSHA alliance with West Virginia University Safety & Health Extension, West Virginia State Consultation Program promotes workplace safety, health

CHARLESTON, WV – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has signed a two-year alliance with West Virginia University Safety & Health Extension and West Virginia State Consultation Program to provide safety and health information, guidance and training to OSHA Training Institute Education Center participants.

March 16, 2021

OSHA, grain industry leaders say small changes have big impacts

WASHINGTON, DC ‒ Today, six of every 10 workers trapped in a grain bin don’t make it out alive. This is a frightening reality, but one that the nation’s 8,378 off-farm grain storage facilities’ operators can change by following common sense approaches that truly may be the difference between life and death.

March 16, 2021

​​​​​​​US Department of Labor, El Paso Association of Contractors renew alliance to protect safety, health of construction workers

EL PASO, TX – Construction is a high hazard industry that comprises various activities that can expose workers to serious injuries. Depending on the job, construction workers may face falls, trench and scaffold collapses, slips, trips and other dangers.

March 15, 2021

OSHA cites New Jersey frozen dessert manufacturer after second amputation injury on same machine

LAKEWOOD, NJ – Despite two severe amputation injuries in 2018 and 2020 on the same machine at a Lakewood ice cream manufacturing plant, a recent federal safety and health inspection found the company continues to ignore protocols designed to prevent other workers from suffering similar injuries.

March 12, 2021

OSHA launches program to protect high-risk workers from coronavirus, focuses on employers that retaliate against workers with safety concerns

WASHINGTON, DC In response to President Biden’s executive order on protecting worker health and safety, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has launched a national emphasis program focusing enforcement efforts on companies that put the largest number of workers at serious risk of contracting the coronavirus.

March 11, 2021

OSHA cites Chicago container shipping company after employee suffers leg amputation, crushed pelvis when run over by powered industrial vehicle

CHICAGO – Working at a Chicago shipping facility, an employee suffered a leg amputation and crushed pelvis after he fell off and was then run over by a powered heavy-lift vehicle used to move and stack steel containers. The 30-year-old recent hire suffered injuries after being allowed to ride unsecured on the vehicle.

March 10, 2021

US Department of Labor orders one of the nation’s largest railway companies to pay more than $290K in damages, reinstate whistleblower

FORT WORTH, TX – An employee of one of the nation’s largest North American freight railroad networks will receive more than $290,000 in back pay, damages and fees, and be reinstated to their job after the U.S. Department of Labor found the worker’s rights were violated under the Federal Railroad Safety Act.

March 8, 2021

US Department of Labor again cites Oklahoma construction contractor for exposing workers to serious trenching, excavation hazards

OKLAHOMA CITY – Excavation work is among the most dangerous in the construction industry. Trenches can collapse around and atop workers, crushing and burying them quickly and sometimes fatally – which has long made trench and excavation protection a vital concern for the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

March 3, 2021

OSHA cites BEF Foods Inc.’s Lima facility after production worker suffers partial arm amputation from cleaning auger

LIMA, OH – While cleaning an auger used to rice potatoes, a 39-year-old production worker found her left arm caught in a running auger. The worker suffered multiple lacerations and the partial amputation of her arm. Co-workers had to cut the auger apart to free her arm.