A Mississippi woman has been sentenced to 57 months in prison for impersonating an OSHA officer and conducting a hazardous waste cleanup training scam on out-of-work fishermen in the Gulf Coast region.

An OSHA inspection prompted by three workers being hospitalized for serious burns from a flash fire has resulted in $60,000 in fines against two government contractors.

For reasons that have not been disclosed, the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) has sharply reduced fines levied recently against Disneyland Resorts for health and safety violations at Disneyland.

Union officials or community organizers will be allowed on “walkaround” OSHA inspections at non-union workplaces, under a new interpretation of regulations by the agency in a recent interpretation letter. The revision comes in response to a letter from Steve Sallman, Health and Safety Specialist for the United Steel, Paper and Forestry, Rubber, Manufacturing, Energy, Allied Industrial and Service Workers International Union.

OSHA has cited Halekulani Corp., owner and operator of Halekulani Hotel in Waikiki Beach, with 14 serious safety violations following a routine inspection. "The hotel industry is one of the biggest employers in Hawaii, and it's critical that owners and operators have strong safety and health programs," said Galen Lemke, director of OSHA's Honolulu Area Office.

 

OSHA has established a strategic partnership with the Chicago Regional Council of Carpenters and W.E. O'Neil Construction Co. to reduce workers' exposure to hazards and the likelihood of serious injuries.

OSHA remains underfunded, understaffed and unarmed with penalties high enough to deter violations, according to the AFL-CIO’s annual report on occupational fatalities in the U.S., which provides background analysis in addition to the data.

OSHA has cited Anheuser-Busch Cos. LLC in Houston with one alleged willful and five serious violations for failing to protect workers from exposure to carbon dioxide and other workplace hazards while working in brewery cellars. The October 2012 complaint inspection of the facility on Gellhorn Drive has resulted in a proposed penalty totaling $88,000.