Textile manufacturer faces $108,800 in OSHA penalties

AUGUSTA, Maine — Employees at Formed Fiber Technologies LLC's Auburn manufacturing plant use a variety of machines, including robots, to make polyester carpets and thermoformed trunk liners for the automotive industry. An inspection by U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration begun in September 2014, has found these workers at risk of injuries because their employer did not ensure proper safeguards on the machines they operate.

HONOLULU — M.H. Electric has paid $290,588 in back wages to 65 workers after the U.S. Department of Labor determined that the Honolulu-based subcontractor violated federal wage and hour laws at 10 federally funded construction projects awarded in Hawaii between 2012 and 2014 by the Hawaii Air National Guard and the U.S. Departments of the Navy, Army and Veterans Affairs. In resolving the department's allegations, the company also paid an additional $14,507 in back wages and damages for overtime violations under the Fair Labor Standards Act.

LONDON, Ohio — Employees at Reynolds Nationwide risked potentially lethal suffocation caused by dangerous fumes as the company did not test the atmosphere and properly ventilate the air in food transport tankers before allowing workers to enter. After receiving an employee complaint, the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration initiated an investigation on Aug. 6, 2014, at the London tank-cleaning facility.

WASHINGTON — U.S. Secretary of Labor Thomas E. Perez issued the following statement about the January 2015 Employment Situation report released today:

"2015 is picking up right where 2014 left off — with strong, steady, sustained job growth that is leading a dynamic recovery.

SEATTLE — More than three-quarters of janitorial service companies investigated nationally by the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division in the past two fiscal years failed to pay low-wage workers fairly and legally for the work they do. Of the division's 1,221 janitorial industry investigations, 76 percent resulted in violations and led to the recovery of $7.9 million in unpaid wages for nearly 10,000 workers.

HOUSTON — A 31-year-old worker was the second person killed in a year at Madden Bolt Corp. when a cutting-table explosion in August 2014 hurled the employee and a steel plate into the air. The plate then landed on the fallen worker, U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration investigators determined. As a result, OSHA has cited the Houston-based employer for 10 serious violations.

In September 2013, a forklift driver at Madden Bolt died after the machine turned over and pinned him underneath.

HOUSTON — Combustible dust left uncontrolled or suspended in the air can explode, which was one of many safety hazards discovered after an inspection at the Thomas Moore Feed facility in Navasota, Texas, by the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration. OSHA inspectors found 18 violations and proposed a penalty of $58,100.

Employer name: MP Global Products LLC, Norfolk, Nebraska

Investigation site: 2500 Hadar Road, Norfolk, Nebraska

After receiving a formal complaint from an employee alleging unsafe working conditions, the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration's Omaha Area Office initiated an inspection on Aug. 5, 2014.

Investigation findings: OSHA's investigation found multiple safety and health hazards at the company which manufactures padding from recycled denim products.

FRANKLIN, Ohio — Mere months after two employees were injured by dangerous machines, Burrows Paper Corp. again put workers at risk. Acting on a complaint, the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration found workers unjamming and servicing machines without proper safeguards during an Aug. 25, 2014, inspection. This is the fourth time in the past year that Burrows has been cited for hazards at its Franklin food box manufacturing facility.

MADISON, Ohio — Every year, thousands of people are electrocuted at work by current from live wires and energized parts. Electrical current often enters through the skin, muscles or hair and then spikes through the nervous system, burning tissue in patches. One of those who suffered this kind of injury was a 24-year-old temporary maintenance employee at International Paper Co. in Madison. Burns hospitalized him and left him unable to work for more than four months.

BLUE ISLAND, Ill. — Without proper protections, employees who work with lead can bring this toxic metal home on their clothes, shoes, skin, hair and hands with the potential to poison children and other family members. "Take-home lead" as it's called is particularly dangerous for pregnant women and preschoolers.

ST. LOUIS — Garda Armored Car failed to train its employees to use portable fire extinguishers, despite being cited by the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration for the same violation in March 2013. Responding to a complaint, OSHA inspected the armored car company on Oct. 20, 2014, and found that the business had not trained employees as instructed.

NILES, Ohio. — A 49-year-old machine operator was fatally crushed while reaching into an extrusion press to remove unprocessed aluminum parts because his employer, BRT Extrusions Inc., failed to ensure the machine's power was fully off so that it would not turn on during maintenance, a procedure known as lockout/tagout. An investigation into the Aug. 6, 2014, incident by the U.S.

Employer name: Flink Co., 502 N. Vermillion St., Streator, Illinois

Inspection site: 150 Benchmark Drive, Streator, Illinois

On July 23, 2014, an inspection was initiated by the North Aurora Area Office of the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration after receiving a complaint.

Employer name: H & W Contracting, Sioux Falls, South Dakota

Investigation site: Columbia and East Willow Streets, Harrisburg, South Dakota

On July 28, 2014, the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration's Bismarck Area Office initiated an inspection under the National Emphasis Program on Trenching after witnessing workers exposed to trenching hazards.

DALLAS — The dangers of worker exposure to hexavalent chromium, a known carcinogen that can cause serious long-term health issues, including lung cancer and kidney failure, should have come as no surprise to the Lane Plating Works Inc. owner. Air-monitoring tests told him that workers were being overexposed to the dangerous toxin, but he failed to correct the hazard. As a result, the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited the Dallas-based chrome plating shop for two willful violations and 19 serious violations.

Who: Mine Safety and Health Administration

What: Public Hearing on Proposed Rule for Criteria and Procedures for Assessment of Civil Penalties

When: Thursday, Feb. 5 at 9 a.m. CST

Where: Sheraton Birmingham Hotel 2101 Richard Arrington Jr. Boulevard North Birmingham, Alabama 35203 205-324-5000

State: Wisconsin

Type of Award: National Emergency Grant incremental funding

Employers Experiencing Layoffs: American TV; C&D Technologies Inc.; Caterpillar Global Mining LLC; Deaconess Home Health Inc.; FIS; Joy Global Inc.; Kindred Transitional Care and Rehabilitation; Kohl's Department Stores Inc.; Rock-Tenn Co.; the Social Development Commission; The Oilgear Co.; Tramont Corp.

Incremental Award Released: $659,640

Who: Mine Safety and Health Administration

What: Public Hearing on Proposed Rule for Criteria and Procedures for Assessment of Civil Penalties

When: Thursday, Feb. 5 at 9 a.m. CST

Where: Sheraton Birmingham Hotel 2101 Richard Arrington Jr. Boulevard North Birmingham, Alabama 35203 205-324-5000