HOUSTON — Piled boxes at dangerous heights and blocked exit routes were two of the hazards found at the Houston location of the national discount retailer Dollar Tree Stores Inc. The hazards, both of which led to repeated citations, were found during an investigation by U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration inspectors. OSHA proposed $116,200 in penalties for two repeated and four serious violations at the West Gray Street store.

ELK GROVE VILLAGE, Ill. — For the third time in three years, an Elk Grove Village maker of metal home siding products ignored safety rules for machines. By doing so, the company put workers at risk of cuts, lacerations and amputations.

Acting on a complaint, U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration inspectors identified one repeated and five serious safety violations at Rollex Corp.'s metal siding manufacturing plant in October 2014. The company faces $103,000 in proposed penalties.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor's traveling resource center will visit Newport News, Virginia, on April 28, to inform nuclear weapons workers about benefits available to them under the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act.

Date of Action: April 17, 2015

Type of Action: Complaint and Consent Judgment

Name(s) of Defendant(s): Robert W. Lewis, Kristie L. McDonald, Enterworks Inc. and Enterworks Inc. Shared Savings Plan

Allegations: Based on an investigation conducted by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration, the Secretary of Labor filed a complaint alleging:

Employer name: MFB Holdings LLC, doing business as M.F. Blouin, a manufacturer of acrylic and wooden sign holders and displays

Inspection site: 710 Main St. Rollinsford, New Hampshire 03869

OCEAN SPRINGS, Miss. — Gerald Moran had completed numerous framing jobs like the one at a new Government Street residence in Ocean Springs. Unlike past jobs, this one claimed his life. On Nov. 3, 2014, Moran and two workers installed balcony ceiling planks when Moran lost his balance and fell more than 20 feet. He sustained fatal injuries and died eight days later.

REDDICK, Fla. — Electrician's apprentice and lifelong Oxford resident Christopher Lee Dasher was testing and repairing electrical transformers at a substation in Reddick when he was electrocuted by more than 10,000 volts. Dasher, a 36-year-old husband and Duke Energy Florida Inc. worker, was a person who lived to make others happy.

New Jersey-based painting contractor faces more than $41K in OSHA fines

Employer name: Allied Painting Inc., a painting contractor based in Cherry Hill, New Jersey.

Inspection site: Charles M. Braga Jr. Memorial Bridge, Fall River, Massachusetts 02720

Employer name: Johnson Controls Battery Group Inc.

Investigation site: 10300 Industrial St., Holland, Ohio

Date investigation initiated and what prompted inspection: On Nov. 25, 2014, the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration initiated a follow-up inspection at Johnson Controls Battery Group. The wet and dry battery manufacturer was previously inspected by OSHA in April 2012.

Employer name: M&M Manufacturing Co. LLC

Site: Houston, Texas

Date initiated: The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration initiated the March 2015 inspection after receiving a report of an amputation at the facility under the new OSHA recordkeeping and reporting requirements that became effective January 1, 2015.

Parent company Cohen Brothers also cited for 3 serious electrical safety violations

Employer name: Cohen Brothers Inc., Middletown, Ohio; Metal Shredders Inc., Miamisburg, Ohio

Inspection site: Metal Shredders Inc., a subsidiary of Cohen Brothers, 5101 Farmersville-West Carrollton Road, Miamisburg, Ohio

WASHINGTON — The Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), signed by President Obama on July 22, 2014, is the first major reform to federal job training programs in more than 15 years. WIOA is designed to improve the coordination of employment and training services across federal agencies, strengthen collaboration with state and local partners, and provide Americans with increased access to training, education and other support to succeed in the job market and in their careers.

IDAHO FALLS, Idaho — Two workers in the Idaho Falls area were killed in separate incidents when the vehicles they were working under fell from their makeshift supports and crushed them. The incidents occurred within a two-week period and within three miles of one another. Since Sept. 1, 2014, five of the nine workplace deaths in Idaho involved workers who were crushed under or by vehicles.

Company owner served with subpoena requiring him to cooperate with investigators

Employer name: Julio Galindo, 3812 Fayette Road, Columbus, Ohio

Investigation site: 3556 Oakway Drive, Toledo, Ohio

Employer name: Grede Wisconsin Subsidiaries LLC, Browntown, Wisconsin.

Employer names: Formosa Plastics Corp. Texas; Infinity Maintenance; Maxim Crane Works; APRM Inc., doing business as, Plant Maintenance Services; Clark Constructors LLC, Process Service Specialist and Turner Industrial Group

Site: Point Comfort, Texas

Date initiated: The Occupational Safety and Health Administration began investigating the natural gas processing facility in October 2014 after the facility experienced five incidents involving potential chemical releases in three days, resulting in worker injuries.

WASHINGTON — The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is asking the public for information about worker safety hazards in communication tower construction and maintenance activities. Public input will assist the agency in determining what measures are needed to prevent worker injuries and fatalities.

ARLINGTON, Va. — The U.S. Department of Labor's Mine Safety and Health Administration today released preliminary data for calendar year 2014 and updated its Mine Safety and Health at a Glance Web page. The charts include information on inspections; violations; number of mines and miners; and fatality and injury rates for coal, metal and nonmetal, and all mining.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor has released a proposed rule that will protect 401(k) and IRA investors by mitigating the effect of conflicts of interest in the retirement investment marketplace. A White House Council of Economic Advisers analysis found that these conflicts of interest result in annual losses of about 1 percentage point for affected investors — or about $17 billion per year in total.

Date of Action: March 27, 2015

Type of Action: Complaint

Names of Defendants: James H. Carmichael, The Specialty Restaurant Group LLC 401(k) Plan, and The Specialty Restaurant Group LLC Group Health Plan