Kansas drywall contractor cited following fatal forklift incident. Midwest Drywall Company, Inc., faces $77,604 in penalties after a worker was fatally crushed by part of a forklift. OSHA inspectors determined that the company failed to properly secure a suspended and supported load, and ensure that workers were kept clear of it.
OSHA's civil penalties amounts for violations of workplace safety and health standards will increase in 2019 to adjust for inflation. The adjusted maximum penalty amounts will take effect upon publication in the Federal Register. New penalties for willful and repeat violations will be $132,598 per violation; serious, other-than-serious, and posting requirements are $13,260 per violation.
OSHA has cited RKM Utility Services Inc. for failing to protect workers from hydrogen sulfide after an employee died after exposure to dangerous levels of the gas while working in a trench in Dallas, Texas. OSHA inspectors determined that the company exposed employees to a hazardous atmosphere, failed to train employees on the health hazards of hydrogen sulfide, and did not drain water from the trench.
A volunteer firefighter in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, lost his life last July responding to an explosion and fire that resulted from two utility contractors failing to establish the location of underground utilities prior to beginning excavation work.
Trench was filling with water, had no cave-in protection
January 15, 2019
OSHA has cited Spear Excavating LLC – based in Pennsburg, Pennsylvania – for exposing employees to trenching hazards at a worksite in Malvern, Pennsylvania. The company faces $106,057 in proposed penalties.
OSHA initiated an inspection on August 2, 2018, after receiving a complaint alleging the hazards.
A crane collapse that caused injuries in New York City last summer has resulted in citations against a Missouri-based contractor.
Three construction workers were injured – one critically - when an unsecured mini-crane overturned and fell four stories from an East Harlem worksite on June 25, 2018. The injured included the worker who fell with the crane.
Although the partial shutdown of the federal government continues to affect many agencies, the U.S. Department of Labor – of which OSHA is a part – is open and funded as a result of spending bills that were previously passed by Congress and signed into law by President Trump.
Exits at a Ohio United Parcel Service (UPS) distribution center weren’t just temporarily blocked, according to the OSHA inspectors; some were permanently locked.
The company was cited for repeatedly putting workers at risk by obstructing exit routes at its Sharonville, Ohio, distribution center and faces $208,603 in proposed penalties for those violations.
OSHA has cited roofing company Aspen Contracting Inc. – based in Lee’s Summit, Missouri – and subcontractor J Cuellar LLC – based in West Bend, Wisconsin – for exposing employees to dangerous fall hazards at a Fountain, Colorado construction site. The companies face proposed penalties totaling $147, 998.
OSHA has cited Thiele Dairy in Clearwater, Nebraska for failing to develop and implement safety and health programs related to grain bin entry after an employee suffered fatal injuries.
OSHA inspectors determined that an operating sweep auger lacerated an employee's leg as he attempted to remove corn from inside a grain bin at the dairy.
