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 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.

An amputation injury at an ice cream manufacturing facility in Lakewood, New Jersey has earned an employer $103,476 in proposed penalties. The citations issued by OSHA against Mister Cookie Face LLC for machine safety hazards followed an incident in which a sanitation employee suffered a fingertip amputation and a fractured finger when the machine he was attempting to unjam, activated.

A company that provides temporary agriculture labor has been cited by OSHA, after one of its employees died from a heat-related illness. OSHA found that Rivera Agri Inc. failed to protect employees working in excessive heat after a farmworker succumbed to apparent heat-related symptoms while working in a cornfield near Grand Island, Nebraska.

OSHA has cited Sabel Steel Service Inc. – based in Montgomery, Alabama – for exposing employees to amputation, fall, and other hazards at four of the company's facilities. The manufacturer faces $320,261 in penalties.

An OSHA investigation into an accident in which a construction worker had his foot and ankle crushed has led to multiple citations against two companies. The employee suffered the injuries at a Fort Lauderdale, Florida worksite when the lattice boom section of a crane fell on him during disassembly.

OSHA has cited Northeast Framing Inc. – based in Lunenberg, Massachusetts – for exposing workers to falls and other hazards following an employee’s fatal fall at an East Boston, Massachusetts, worksite in May 2018. The company faces $311,330 in penalties, the maximum allowed by law.

An Amazon warehouse wall collapses, killing two workers; OSHA issues a final rule on crane operators and managers at one company are indicted for obstructing an OSHA fatal accident investigation. These were among the top occupational health and safety stories featured on ISHN.com this week.

An Alabama tank cleaning company exposed its employees to multiple confined space, fire and explosion hazards, according to OSHA, which has proposed $171,281 in penalties against American Remediation and Environmental Inc.