A group of U.S. senators are hoping that the 16th attempt will be the charm for legislation that would include more workers in federally mandated protections, increase OSHA civil penalties and toughen criminal penalties for unsafe employers.
Being cited seven times in the past five years for safety violations apparently has not made an impression on Jose A. Serrato. The independent roofing contractor based in Marietta, Georgia has again been cited by OSHA for exposing his workers to fall hazards – this time at a worksite in Birmingham. Current proposed penalties total $133,604.
OSHA has cited Summit Milk Products LLC, based in Waterloo, for ongoing failure to protect employees against burns at its facility. The cheese and dairy products manufacturer faces a total of $143,954 in proposed penalties for uncorrected and new hazards.
OSHA has cited a Nebraska egg processing facility for multiple safety violations after an employee suffered fatal injuries when he was struck by a dock leveler - a device used to allow a forklift to travel between a loading dock and a trailer.
OSHA has cited a Florida construction company after one of its employees died from heat exposure while working at a residential site in Jacksonville.
Middleburg-based Southeastern Subcontractors Inc. failed to protect its workers from the dangerous hazards of working outdoors in extreme heat, according to OSHA, which issued the one serious citation for exposing employees to heat-related injuries, and one other-than-serious violation for failing to report a workplace fatality to OSHA within 8 hours of its occurrence.
Four workers in Englewood, Colorado were lucky to escape with their lives when a trench they were in collapsed – although one suffered serious injuries.
The Dec. 7, 2017 incident involving employees of Langston Concrete, Inc. has resulted in OSHA citations against the company for failing to protect its workers from trench collapse hazards.
An OSHA investigation into a worker’s partial thumb amputation has resulted in safety citations and thousands of dollars in proposed fines against his employer. The injury occurred when the employee was clearing a jam on a bag sealing machine.
Employees at a Pennsylvania carpentry framing company performed their work without fall or head protection, according to OSHA, which has cited Strong Construction, Inc. for two willful and five serious safety and health violations. The Bensalem company, which specializes in commercial and industrial construction, faces $213,318 in fines.
OSHA has cited a Palatine, Illinois-based contractor for multiple safety violations after agency inspectors observed employees exposed to fall hazards on half a dozen Chicago-area residential roofing projects between August and November 2017. The company faces $281,286 in proposed penalties.
Forcing OSHA to choose between focusing on enforcement or compliance assistance is “a false choice,” according to Dr. David Michaels, former assistant secretary of labor for occupational safety and health and current professor in the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health at the Milken Institute School of Public Health at The George Washington University in Washington.