July 27, 2015

OSHA News Brief: OSHA finds Shoreline Foundation Inc. exposes workers to drowning, fall and impalement hazards [07/27/2015]

Employer name: Shoreline Foundation Inc.

Inspection site: 1 East, 11th Street, Riviera Beach, Florida 33404

Date citations issued: The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued citations to the employer on July 23, 2015.

July 24, 2015

OSHA News Release: Employee's death at International Paper's Ticonderoga plant 'preventable' [07/24/2015]

ALBANY, N.Y. — The death of an employee at International Paper Co.'s Ticonderoga plant could have been prevented if his employer provided proper safeguards and training, an inspection by the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration has determined.

July 24, 2015

OPA News Release: Statement of US Labor Secretary on the 25th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act [07/24/2015]

WASHINGTON — In honor of the 25th anniversary of the signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act, Secretary of Labor Thomas E. Perez released the following statement:

July 24, 2015

MSHA News Release: MSHA's Main pays tribute to an icon in the fight against black lung disease [07/24/2015]

ARLINGTON, Va. — Assistant Secretary of Labor for Mine Safety and Health Joseph A. Main today issued the following statement on the passing of black lung research physician Dr. Donald Rasmussen:

"The coal mining community has lost one of its most passionate advocates with the passing of Dr. Donald Rasmussen yesterday. Treating coal miners afflicted with black lung disease became his life's mission. In fact, in a career spanning more than five decades, he tested tens of thousands of mine workers.

July 23, 2015

WHD News Brief: Maui substance treatment center pays $45K in back wages, damages and penalties [07/23/2015]

Employer: Aloha House Inc., doing business as Maui Behavioral Health Resources.

Site: 200 Ike Drive, Makawao, Hawaii 96768

July 23, 2015

MSHA News Release: New MSHA online training tool will help mine operators and contractors report injuries, illnesses and accidents [07/23/2015]

ARLINGTON, Va. — Along with enforcement and technical assistance, education and training is an essential component of the Mine Safety and Health Administration's mission. To assist mine operators and contractors in complying with federal regulations to report accidents, illnesses and injuries, MSHA has created a new interactive, online training tool.

July 22, 2015

US Labor Department recovers $30K in missing retirement contributions from Houston area graphic design and printing company

Date of Action: July 16, 2015

Type of Action: Consent judgment and order with Mercury Signs & Display LTD and its owners Travis Hoffart and Ted Hoffart, Jr., in an effort to recover about $30,000 in employee retirement contributions.

Name of Defendant: Mercury Signs & Display LTD and its owners Travis Hoffart and Ted Hoffart, Jr.

July 22, 2015

OSHA News Brief: Wilmington, Delaware, manufacturer exposes workers to potentially explosive combustible dust, other safety and health hazards [07/22/2015]

Employer's name: The investigation was conducted at Franklin Fibre-Lamitex Corp., doing business as Franklin Fibre. The precision parts manufacturer is located at 903 East 13th Street in Wilmington, Delaware.

July 22, 2015

OSHA News Brief: LaGrange, Georgia agricultural equipment manufacturer exposes workers to deadly safety hazards [07/22/2015]

Employer name: Durand-Wayland Inc.

Inspection site: 101 Durand Road, LaGrange, Georgia 30241

Date citations issued: The Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued citations to the employer on July 21, 2015. The inspection was initiated on Jan. 29, 2015, after the agency received a complaint.

July 22, 2015

EBSA News Brief: US Labor Department recovers $30K in missing retirement contributions from Houston area graphic design and printing company [07/22/2015]

Date of Action: July 16, 2015

Type of Action: Consent judgment and order with Mercury Signs & Display LTD and its owners Travis Hoffart and Ted Hoffart, Jr., in an effort to recover about $30,000 in employee retirement contributions.

Name of Defendant: Mercury Signs & Display LTD and its owners Travis Hoffart and Ted Hoffart, Jr.

July 22, 2015

OSHA News Release: Trench collapse seriously injures worker, leads to $424K fine for employer [07/22/2015]

HOUSTON — One minute he was working in the 8-foot trench below ground. The next, he was being buried in it. His co-workers came to his rescue, digging him out with their bare hands. Moments after they pulled the injured man to safety, the unprotected trench collapsed again. His injuries were serious and led to his hospitalization.

The man's Houston-area employer, Hassell Construction Co. Inc. knew the Richmond, Texas excavation site was dangerous, but failed to protect its workers.

July 22, 2015

OSHA News Release: Texas worker injured after being denied safety equipment; employers cited [07/22/2015]

HOUSTON — Despite his request for a safety harness, a temporary worker without fall protection on a roof later fell 12 feet through the roof. His fall resulted in his hospitalization with fractured arms and severe contusions.

The employer, Cotton Commercial USA Inc. in Katy, Texas, waited three days to report the injury, an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration found. Federal law requires employers to report such incidents within 24 hours.

July 22, 2015

MSHA News Release: MSHA mid-year report shows 18 mining deaths in first half of 2015 [07/22/2015]

ARLINGTON, Va. — In the first six months of 2015, the U.S. Department of Labor's Mine Safety and Health Administration recorded the deaths of 18 miners in mining industry accidents in its national mid-year summary released today. The toll represents a decrease of five metal and nonmetal deaths from the same period in 2014.

July 21, 2015

OSHA News Release: Ashley Furniture cited again, faces new proposed penalties for failing to protect workers from moving machine parts [07/21/2015]

ARCADIA, Wis. — A 56-year-old employee of furniture manufacturer Ashley Furniture Industries Inc. had his right ring finger amputated because the company has continued to ignore safety requirements to protect workers from moving machine parts. The company also failed to report the injury to the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration, as required.

July 21, 2015

OWCP News Release: Nominations sought for advisory board on nuclear weapons worker health [07/21/2015]

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Workers' Compensation Programs is seeking nominations for membership on the newly created Advisory Board on Toxic Substances and Worker Health for Part E of the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act. The act provides compensation and medical benefits to nuclear weapons workers diagnosed with medical conditions caused by their exposure to toxic substances at covered nuclear facilities.

July 21, 2015

EBSA News Release: Lawsuit returns more than $1M to workers in health care company's Employee Stock Ownership Plan [07/21/2015]

WARSAW, Ind. — A federal court in Indiana has entered an Agreed Order and Judgment requiring PBI Bank Inc. to pay $1,052,613 to the Miller's Health Systems Inc., Employee Stock Ownership Plan to restore alleged losses. The judgment resolves a lawsuit filed by the U.S. Department of Labor against PBI alleging it violated the Employee Retirement Income Security Act when it authorized the purchase of company stock by the ESOP for more than fair market value.

July 20, 2015

OSHA News Brief: Employees of New Britain, Conn., heat treatment plant face chemical, fire, explosion and mechanical hazards [07/20/2015]

Employer name: Metallurgical Processing Inc.

Investigation site: 50 — 58 Arthur St., New Britain, Conn. 06053

Investigation findings: The Hartford Area Office of the Labor Department's Occupational Safety and Health Administration began inspections on Jan. 15, 2015, in response to employee complaints. The inspections found employees of the company, which performs heat treatment on metal parts, were exposed to a variety of fire, explosion, chemical and mechanical hazards.

July 20, 2015

ILAB News Release: $4.8M in funding to fight child labor in agricultural supply chains [07/20/2015]

WASHINGTON — Ricardo stands on his tiptoes, straining to reach into a tangle of branches to retrieve a cluster of coffee berries. He makes his way along the row of trees, each laden with hundreds of the tiny fruit, dropping them carefully in his basket. He repeats this process for hours. His unprotected hands and arms are covered with scratches, his bare feet and legs bitten by bugs, his skin scorched by the hot sun. At 10 years old, this is the world he knows; he has never seen the inside of a classroom.

July 20, 2015

ETA News Release: Workers affected by California drought to receive temporary employment [07/20/2015]

WASHINGTON — Now well into its fourth year, one of the worst droughts in California in more than a century continues to cause economic insecurity for many families in the region, particularly in the agriculture sector. A recent University of California Davis study estimates 18,000 people lost jobs because of drought.