BOSTON – Twice in less than three months in late 2023, a Boston waterproofing contractor exposed employees to life-threatening cave-ins and excavation hazards at residential worksites in Arlington, Massachusetts, and Warwick, Rhode Island, federal workplace safety investigators found.

MOUNDVILLE, AL – A U.S. Department of Labor workplace safety investigation has found an industrial concrete construction contractor failed to follow required safety procedures that could have prevented a 65-year-old worker from suffering fatal injuries when a shipping container weighing more than four tons fell and struck the employee at a job site near Tuscaloosa.

HOUSTON – A La Porte tank cleaning company again chose to disregard federal safety standards that may have protected their employees from hazardous working conditions and prevented another employee from suffering a fatal injury. In December 2023, just two days before Christmas, the wife and son of an employee at the company grew concerned when he didn’t return after his shift. Later that day, he was found unresponsive.

LIVERPOOL, PA– The owner of a Liverpool roofing company risked the lives of two of his children by exposing them to falls from heights — the construction industry’s leading cause of death — while they worked on roofs atop a Mechanicsburg apartment complex in June 2024, a U.S. Department of Labor investigation has found.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor has released a proposed rule with the goal of protecting millions of workers from the significant health risks of extreme heat. If finalized, the proposed rule would help protect approximately 36 million workers in indoor and outdoor work settings and substantially reduce heat injuries, illnesses and deaths in the workplace. 

PRESCOTT, AZ – For the second time in four years, federal investigators have determined a Prescott veterans’ medical center failed to protect healthcare workers from unit residents who kicked, bit, struck, punched, slapped and sexually harassed them.

SAVANNAH, GA – The U.S. Department of Labor has determined a Hazlehurst sawmill could have prevented a 24-year-old employee from suffering fatal injuries while working with a woodchipper if the company had ensured that federal safety regulations were followed.

HOUSTON – A federal workplace inspection at a metal refinisher in Houston found the company exposing employees to more than 40 safety hazards with the potential to cause serious health concerns, including birth defects, respiratory disorders, cardiovascular disease and cancers.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced the availability of more than $12.7M in training grants made by its Occupational Safety and Health Administration to support initiatives designed to create safer workplaces and, in turn, advance the department’s Good Jobs efforts.

HUBBARD, OH ‒ A Hubbard industrial manufacturer failed to protect their employees from molten metal that was heated to more than 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit, the U.S. Department of Labor determined after its investigation into how a 30-year-old employee suffered fatal injuries.  

ARCADIA, FL – A federal workplace safety investigation found a Florida labor contractor could have prevented the fatal illness of a 41-year-old worker who collapsed while harvesting oranges at Alico Farms in December 2023 by taking required steps to protect employees from hazards associated with high temperatures. 

SYRACUSE, NY – A construction contractor could have prevented an employee’s fatal fall at a Smyrna, New York job site in December 2023 by providing adequate fall protection and training employees in its effective use, a U.S. Department of Labor investigation found.

ATLANTA – A five-man crew’s first day working to remove tar and stone from metal roof panels at a Macon warehouse ended abruptly in November 2023 when a 54-year-old laborer tragically suffered fatal injuries after stepping on a skylight and falling about 19 feet.

A U.S. Department of Labor investigation found Georgia construction contractor could have prevented by providing their employees with required fall protection.

BOAZ, AL – A Boaz mobile home manufacturer could have prevented a 62-year-old roofing laborer’s fatal fall had the employer followed required fall protection standards, a U.S. Department of Labor investigation found.

The department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration determined that the Kabco Builders Inc. employee was alone loading shingles as they straddled a two-foot-wide space between a platform and a mobile home’s roof when they slipped and fell approximately 10 feet. 

PLANO, TX – The U.S. Department of Labor has ordered American Home Protect LLC in Plano and its parent company, Porch Group Inc. in Seattle, to reinstate and pay back wages and compensatory damages to an employee who was fired in June 2023 after informing upper management about deceptive business practices.

ATLANTA – A U.S. Department of Labor workplace safety investigation has found a Woodbury plastic and resin manufacturer could have prevented a 37-year-old employee from suffering fatal injuries by following required safety rules designed to keep machines from starting up during maintenance. 

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

What:             Southeast Region Whistleblower protections webinar 

SANDUSKY, OH – A Sandusky pork processing facility exposed workers to a release of ammonia gas, leading the U.S. Department of Labor to open two inspections and issue 43 violations of federal regulations.

ARLINGTON, TX – A federal workplace safety investigation of a global manufacturer and distributor of pet products in Arlington identified one willful violation and eight serious violations of required safety regulations during its investigation into how an employee suffered severe facial burns in December 2023.  

MIAMI – The U.S. Department of Labor reminds emergency responders and others working in rescue and recovery efforts as well as residents in areas flooded recently by intense rainfall to be vigilant and to protect themselves and avoid many hazards in a storm’s aftermath.