Valenti’s Bakery LLC of Paterson, New Jersey, is facing $194,691 in new Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) fines following a follow-up inspection, the agency announced November 19. The employer now faces a total of $385,221 in OSHA fines.

The agency performed a follow-up inspection in May after the employer failed to prove it had addressed hazards cited by OSHA in a June 2023 inspection, which was initiated in response to an employee who suffered two partial finger amputations after coming into contact with an automatic blade.

In its follow-up inspection, OSHA investigators found that Valenti’s Bakery had failed to develop, document, and use lockout/tagout procedures for the control of hazardous mechanical energy, leading the agency to issue a failure-to-abate notification.

The agency also issued two willful citations for blocked and obstructed exit routes. Additionally, it issued a repeat, serious citation for a lack of machine guarding after observing an employee on two separate occasions using their hands to push dough down in the dough machine, exposing the employee to amputation hazards from the machine’s rotating parts. The agency also issued six serious citations for exposure to fall hazards from a ladder and unprotected sides and edges.

“Valenti’s Bakery failed to take the necessary steps to protect its employees, even after a preventable life-altering injury underscored the hazards in its workplace,” Lisa Levy, OSHA’s Hasbrouck Heights, New Jersey, area office director, said in an agency statement. “Employers have a responsibility to correct known dangers promptly, not disregard them and put workers at further risk.”

According to the agency, Valenti’s Bakery manufactures and sells baked goods wholesale to retailers throughout New Jersey.

Illinois contractor faces $287K in OSHA fines for fall hazards

595 Construction LLC, a Crystal Lake, Illinois, contractor, faces $287,465 in OSHA penalties for eight safety violations after agency investigators found employees framing a residential structure without required protections on three separate times at three residential worksites in the same neighborhood, OSHA announced November 6.

595 Construction has a history of exposing employees to fall hazards, according to OSHA.

Falls from elevation are the leading cause of fatal and serious injuries in the construction industry. OSHA’s construction industry fall protection standard has remained the agency’s most cited standard for 14 years.

Agency inspectors first observed 595 Construction employees without required fall protection equipment on a residential structure in an Elburn, Illinois, neighborhood. On May 10, they observed similar violations at a site across the street. On May 31, OSHA investigators again found employees exposed to fall hazards at another nearby worksite.

The agency cited the company for the following:

• Allowing employees to work without fall protection at heights greater than 6 feet,
• Failing to certify that it trained workers to recognize hazards or prevent falls,
• Permitting the unsafe use of ladders,
• Not ensuring workers had the certification required for operating powered industrial vehicles, and
• Using damaged slings to hoist materials.

The agency cited 595 Construction with one willful violation, four repeat violations, and three serious violations.

“After OSHA opens an investigation at one worksite, we often find the same contractor has done nothing to correct similar hazards at its other sites and not bothered to make certain to train work crews on complying with federal safety protections,” Jacob Scott, OSHA’s Naperville, Illinois, area office director, said in a statement. “For several years, 595 Construction has shown a chronic disregard for safe work operations and a willingness to put its employees’ lives and well-being at risk.”