National discount retailer fined $3.4 million
OSHA cited a national discount retailer with 48 violations following 9 inspections at its stores in Maine, North Dakota, Ohio, and Wisconsin. Violations at the stores included blocked exit routes, doors, fire extinguishers, and electrical panels; unsafely stacked merchandise; unsafe electrical cords; failure to inspect fire extinguishers monthly; failure to provide employees with adequate respiratory protection and personal protective equipment (PPE); and failure to train employees on safe handling of hazardous chemicals and proper cleanup.
Penalty: $3.4 million
Company cited for lack of training
Following the death of a sanitation worker, OSHA cited a pizza manufacturer in Illinois with 16 willful egregious violations, 1 willful violation, and 12 serious violations. The temporary worker was using compressed air to clean a spiral conveyer as it moved to cool pizza when the worker’s head became caught in the machinery. The agency found that temporary workers hadn’t been trained or given the authority to stop equipment from moving before cleaning. Specifically, inspectors identified the following failures and hazards: deficient lockout/tagout procedures to isolate energy during service and maintenance; a lack of adequate machine guards on dough mixers and sprocket wheels and chains; exposing employees working on dough mixers and an oven to fall hazards; exposing workers to the risk of electrical hazards; not ensuring adequate electrical personal protective equipment usage; and exposing workers to potential for eye injuries by failing to provide appropriate protection. OSHA placed the company in its Severe Violator Enforcement Program.
Penalty: $2,812,658
Repeat fall hazards lead to seven-figure fine
OSHA cited a roofing company owner’s Maine-based business for 14 willful, 2 repeat, and 4 serious workplace safety violations after a series of inspections. The agency opened the first inspection in December 2018 after an employee fell more than 21 feet to their death from a steep pitched roof. OSHA determined the owner failed to ensure employees wore the required fall protection. Five days later, OSHA found similar hazards at other worksites and again in May 2019 when the company exposed employees to falls of up to 15 and 21 feet, respectively. Before these three inspections, OSHA cited the company for violations at least five times beginning in 2006, including for failing to ensure employees wore fall protection repeatedly.
Penalty: $1,572,340
Company cited for unsafe work conditions
A discount retailer chain was cited with seven repeat violations at two of its stores in Rhode Island. OSHA inspectors responded to complaints about unsafe conditions at the two stores and found employees exposed to the following hazards: blocked exits (large piles of materials blocked access to emergency exits); unsafe storage of materials (boxed merchandise stacked up to 7 feet high); fire extinguishers (storage room materials completely blocked access to fire extinguishers); and compressed gas storage (inspectors found helium compressed gas cylinders stored and labeled improperly). “Providing employees with clearly recognized and legally required safeguards, such as unimpeded exit access, properly stored materials and readily available fire extinguishers, must be a priority for any employer and should not be ignored,” explained OSHA Area Director Robert Sestito in Providence, Rhode Island.
Penalty: $770,136
Employee suffers serious amputation
OSHA cited a metal product manufacturing facility in New Jersey with 3 willful violations, 17 serious violations, and 1 other-than-serious violation. Two investigations began after an employee suffered the amputation of three fingers while operating a press brake without required safety guards on the employee’s first day of work. OSHA cited the company for deliberately bypassing the press brake’s light curtain, which led to the amputation; failing to remove and repair an inoperable forklift; failing to provide hazard communication training for chemicals used in the facility; forklift and chemical training violations in its inspections dating back to 2010; exposing workers to welding fumes above the permissible exposure levels; failing to provide respirators when needed; failing to develop a lockout/tagout program to prevent accidental machine start-up; and failing to provide lockout/tagout training. OSHA placed the company in its Severe Violator Enforcement Program.
Penalty: $498,464
Company cited for unguarded machines
A hardwood flooring mill in Ohio was cited with 6 repeat and 12 serious safety violations involving machine safety procedures, trip hazards for surfaces filled with debris, and various electrical safety violations. Following inspections prompted by workers’ injuries, OSHA noted that employees who were required to clean, unjam, and maintain equipment weren’t trained on lockout/tagout procedures and weren’t provided hand tools to assist with unjamming machines and that many machines lacked adequate guarding. OSHA also found stairs that lacked guardrails, unsafe electrical practices, and workers who were unable to safely exit and enter their workspaces due to debris littering the floor.
Penalty: $333,693
Struck-by hazards lead to fines
OSHA cited an international freight-handling company at one of its warehouses in Georgia with 22 serious violations, 1 willful violation, and 1 other-than-serious violation. Inspectors determined the company exposed workers to the risk of being struck or crushed by falling vehicles elevated by forklifts during loading and unloading. The company also failed to provide eye protection to workers who were changing liquid propane tanks and using nail guns. Finally, inspectors also cited the company for allowing flammable wood dust to build up on electrical outlets and equipment, floors, and other machinery.
Penalty: $379,709