Employer name: U.S. Postal Service, 104 S. Fillmore St., Osceola, Iowa

Citations issued: July 29, 2016

Employer name: Prairie State Generating Company
Marissa, Illinois

Citations issued: July 29, 2016

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced the availability of approximately $2 million in grants intended to support university-based research of labor policies and issues.

The department’s Chief Evaluation Office will administer these Labor Research and Evaluation grants – a total of up to 10 awards, ranging from $100,000 to $250,000 – to support evaluation and research on the following suggested topics:

SYLVANIA, Ohio – Splashing acid and other serious hazards are putting employees at a Sylvania metal coating company in danger of serious and debilitating injuries because their employer is failing again to provide appropriate protective clothing and other safety equipment, federal safety and health inspectors have found.

Who: Former employees of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory who worked at the Livermore, California, site may qualify for a presumption of causation if they are included in a designated Special Exposure Cohort class of employees, and have a diagnosis of one of 22 specified cancers.

Who: Former Argonne National Laboratory-West and Idaho National Laboratory employees in Scoville, Idaho, may qualify for a presumption of causation if they are included in a designated Special Exposure Cohort class of employees, and have a diagnosis of one of 22 specified cancers.

ARLINGTON, Va. – A team from Carlsbad, New Mexico, beat out 35 teams from 16 states nationwide to finish first at the 2016 National Metal and Nonmetal Mine Rescue Contest in Reno, Nevada.

This year’s winner, the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant’s “Blue Team,” held off second-place finisher, Vulcan Materials’ “Blue Team” from Bartlett, Illinois, and Newmont Mining’s “Carlin Team” from Carlin, Nevada, which rounded out the top three at the four-day event held in Reno, July 25-28, 2016.

ALBANY, N.Y. – A Schenectady hazardous materials remediation contractor exposed its employees to mercury poisoning and did not provide proper safeguards to workers doing mercury removal work at the General Electric Co. Power and Water Main Plant State Superfund site at 1 River Road in Schenectady, an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has found.

Employer name: Lone Star Wheel Components Inc.

Inspection site: 3129 East Highway 31, Corsicana, Texas 75110

Citations issued: July 29, 2016

MARTHASVILLE, Mo. – Federal investigators found the electrocution death of a 43-year-old welder could have been prevented if his employer had de-energized conductors and followed electrical safe work practices at its Missouri machine shop.

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division will offer a comprehensive compliance seminar for employers, representatives of community rehabilitation programs, family members and guardians of workers with disabilities and other stakeholders on rules governing the payment of workers with disabilities under Section 14(c) of the Fair Labor Standards Act. 

Employer name: RCS Construction LLC

Inspection site: 265 Pennsylvania Ave., Hillside, New Jersey 

Employer name: The Turner Company LLP

Inspection site: 11049 South U.S. Hwy 287, Rhome, Texas 76078

Citations issued: July 29, 2016

Employer name: Rohm-Haas Electronics Material, LLC, doing business as Dow Chemical Co.
60 Willow St., North Andover, Massachusetts a manufacturer of specialty chemicals.

What prompted OSHA’s inspection: On Jan. 7, 2016, an explosion occurred as plant employees were engaged in the trimethyl aluminum cylinder reclamation process. The process involves purging the cylinders of residual amounts of trimethyl aluminum, a substance that can ignite spontaneously in air. Four employees were injured as a result of the explosion.

FREDONIA, N.D. – An investigation into a 36-year-old worker’s injuries at a North Dakota grain facility found multiple violations of federal safety standards for grain handling and confined space entry, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

WICHITA, Kan. – Federal safety inspectors have again found blocked exits and other hazards at stores operated by national discount retailer, Dollar General – this time in Wichita and Clay Center.

Employer name: Tyson Fresh Meats Inc.
Tyson Fresh Meats Inc. a division doing business as Tyson Hides and Tannery
Holcomb, Kansas

Citations issued: July 29, 2016

Investigation findings: The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s Wichita Area Office cited Tyson Fresh Meats Inc. and Tyson Hides and Tannery for a total of two repeated, five serious, and one other than serious safety and health violations.

WASHINGTON – The Advisory Council on Employee Welfare and Pension Benefit Plans, also known as the ERISA Advisory Council, will meet at U.S. Department of Labor headquarters Aug. 23-25, 2016 to hear testimony from invited witnesses and receive an update from the Employee Benefits Security Administration. The council has scheduled the EBSA update tentatively for the morning of Aug. 25.

ELKHORN, Neb. ‒ Rich Tiller might have changed his company’s name, but the Nebraska construction company owner has not changed his callous attitude toward his employees’ safety and well-being.

WATERTOWN, S.D. ‒ Federal investigators found a 24-year-old roofing worker, who fell more than 33 feet to his death lacked an adequate fall protection system and his employer failed to train him to work safely at heights.

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration determined the man, who was installing roofing materials, was outside of a warning line placed on the roof when he fell off the roof of the Watertown Community Center.