On Jan. 2, civil penalty amounts for violations of workplace safety and health standards increased by two percent from last year. In accordance with the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015, the Department of Labor is required to adjust penalties for inflation each year.
One sign that anti-OSHA conservatives are getting nervous about articles (and television appearances) highlighting the declining number of OSHA inspectors are articles questioning whether government plays a useful role in protecting workers. In this case, the Reason Foundation, which “advances a free society by developing, applying, and promoting libertarian principles, including individual liberty, free markets, and the rule of law,” has concluded that reducing the number of OSHA inspectors has no effect on workplace safety.
Nothing sharpens the mind like the prospect of spending time in jail.
Those of you who know me know that there’s little that makes me more angry than seeing a worker killed in a trench collapse. Every construction company owner knows how to prevent trench collapses — or they should know, or shouldn’t be in business.
The fifth time was not a charm for a Holland, Ohio roofing company that was cited recently by OSHA for exposing employees to falls and other safety hazards. The contractor, Casey Bortles, has been cited for similar violations four times since 2014. The most recent round of citations comes with a penalty total of $91,629.
A New Jersey company faces $199,996 in proposed penalties for safety and health violations, after failing to abate similar hazards it was cited for two years ago.
OSHA has issued serious confined space citations to a construction company in Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands, after three of its employees died from exposure to hydrogen sulfide gas.
The tragedy occurred on July 7, 2017, as USA Fanter employees were working in and around a well that was not identified as a permit-required confined space.
OSHA has cited Tampa Electric Co. and Gaffin Industrial Services Inc. after five employees were fatally injured, and one other suffered serious burns.
In June 2017, OSHA investigated the Big Bend River Station electrical power plant in Apollo Beach following the fatalities. Inspectors determined that the employees were burned when a blockage inside a coal-fired furnace broke free and spewed molten slag into the work area.
An OSHA investigation opened after a construction fatality has resulted in $212,396 in proposed penalties against the worker’s employer.
The incident that prompted the inquiry occurred when a 2,600-pound rock dislodged from the building’s foundation and fatally struck a worker who was helping install permanent foundation supports beneath the Woburn Public Library in Woburn, Massachusetts.
OSHA has cited R.A.W. Construction LLC for exposing its employees to trench collapse hazards. The Tallahassee-based company faces proposed penalties of $148,845.
During its investigation of the company’s Loganville worksite, OSHA identified two repeat and five serious violations, including failing to provide cave-in protection, and safe access and egress to employees installing gas lines at the excavation site, and not setting excavated materials at least 2 feet from the excavation.
Workers who were dismantling a mercury boiler in Portsmith, New Hampshire were exposed to high levels of mercury, according to OSHA inspectors who took action following workers’ complaints.
In response, OSHA cited Manafort Brothers, Inc. of Plainville, Connecticut for two willful and six serious violations concerning mercury, respirators, protective clothing, and sanitary conditions. The construction contractor faces penalties of $329,548.
