OSHA fines over one-million dollars have become more common. But here’s one with a twist: It’s not for workplace hazards — it’s for recordkeeping violations.
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Tags: million-dollar fine, national emphasis program, Recordkeeping
A commuter rail system and its former operating contractor want to use federal law to limit their liability in a deadly train crash caused by a texting employee.
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Tags: Connex, Metrolink crash, settlement
A jury in Chicago has awarded the largest individual verdict in a popcorn lung disease case.
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Tags: BASF Corp., bronchiolitis obliterans, diacetyl, jury award, popcorn lung
Sure, a $16.6 million OSHA fine sounds like a lot of money. But that might be only the tip of the iceberg in the case involving an explosion at a Kleen Energy construction site.
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Tags: explosion, federal lawsuit, Kleen Energy
Once again, BP will pay the largest fine in OSHA history, breaking its own previous record. But, the oil giant also faces a half-billion dollars in additional costs as part of its settlement with the federal safety agency.
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Tags: BP Texas City refinery explosion, failure-to-abate fines, largest OSHA fine
A February explosion in Middletown, CT, that killed six workers, injured 50 others and ravaged an under-construction energy plant has prompted OSHA to issue its third-largest fine ever.
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Tags: cut corners, explosion, Kleen Energy, natural gas, third largest OSHA fine
No one can blame an employer for trying to reduce workers’ comp costs through a return-to-work program. But an employer might run into trouble if the state workers’ comp board finds the policy to be illegal.
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Tags: cut workers' comp costs, permanent disability, return to work
While BP still works on cutting off the leaking oil well in the Gulf of Mexico for good, another safety matter waits in the wings for the company: settling citations issued by OSHA for two of its refineries.
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Tags: BP, OSHA, Sen. Al Franken, Sen. Patty Murray, Texas City refinery
How much do you think federal government employees collected in workers’ comp payments in fiscal year 2009? A. $5.2 million? B. $40.3 million? C. $145 million? D. $1.6 billion.
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Tags: federal government employees, reduce costs, Workers' comp
Two businesses in California were shut down by state officials who said outdoor workers were exposed to high heat without shade or water.
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Tags: business shut down, California, heat illness
Imagine this: A driver for your company hits and kills a horse in a work vehicle. What is the responsibility of your employee and company to other motorists on that road?
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OSHA is going postal. No, not like that.
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Tags: inspections, lockout/tagout, OSHA, OSHA fines, PPE
Even after a U.S. Supreme Court ruling on the matter, whether companies have to pay employees for the time spent donning and doffing safety gear was still confusing. The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) is trying to clear that up.
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Tags: Department of Labor, donning and doffing, interpretation, safety gear
You’ve probably heard lots of “rules of thumb” about workplace safety. But are they really true? This article will look at three of them.
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Tags: indirect costs, noise, rules of thumb, truisms, unsafe human acts
When federal OSHA announced a crackdown on state-run safety agencies, it said many of them were issuing fines that didn’t serve as deterrents to companies. Now it appears at least one state has heard that message loud and clear.
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Tags: hand injury, ignored warnings, record fine, state-run safety agencies
The cries for less government have become more frequent these days, including in reader comments on this website when OSHA ramps up enforcement or rulemaking. One frequent argument is that OSHA’s regulations hurt the U.S. economy.
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Tags: less government, OSHA hurts U.S. economy, OSHA ramps up enforcement
A South Dakota company now faces $1.61 million in citations.
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Tags: confined spaces, engulfed and smothered, Fatality, million-dollar fine, South Dakota Wheat Growers
Today (April 28) is Workers’ Memorial Day. U.S. Labor Secretary Hilda Solis suggests we take time to reflect on making jobs safe.
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Tags: Hilda Solis, workers' memorial day, workplace fatalities
A New Jersey state appeals court has upheld a record $30.3 million jury award in an asbestos-related mesothelioma lawsuit. The case is also noteworthy because of the test recognized by the court for a mesothelioma case.
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Tags: asbestos, mesothelioma, record jury award
A jury in Alabama awarded $10 million to a woman whose husband died in a workplace incident in 2008.
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Tags: Fatality, fell 150 feet, jury verdict
A worker reports an injury. An investigation shows the injury was caused because the worker ignored a safety rule. Under company policy, the employee is disciplined. Now, other workers aren’t reporting injuries because they don’t want to be disciplined. What do you do?
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Tags: disciplining workers, OSHA cracking down, reporting workplace injuries
Lawyers believe a judge’s award of damages to five former refinery workers for hearing damage is the first of its kind in Louisiana.
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Tags: hearing loss, Murphy Oil, refinery workers
On March 23, 2005, a series of explosions at BP’s Texas City, TX, refinery resulted in 15 fatalities and 170 injuries.
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Tags: BP refinery explosion, change, prevention, settle lawsuits, U.S. Chemical Safety Board
“Unscrupulous employers often consider it more cost effective to pay the minimal OSHA penalty and continue to operate an unsafe workplace than to correct the underlying health and safety problem. The current penalties do not provide an adequate deterrent.”
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Tags: David Michaels, death of an employee, OSHA penalty, prison time, Protecting America's Workers Act
Increasingly, officials are seeking criminal charges against business owners and managers in connection with workplace fatalities. Now, two men face up to 15 years in prison in connection with a crane collapse in New York City.
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Tags: crane collapse, criminal charges, prison
In the first year of the Obama administration, OSHA was busy handing out fines the likes of which hadn’t been seen for eight years. Here’s our rundown of 10 significant fines from the last 12 months, and what they mean for businesses:
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Tags: BP, Obama administration, OSHA fines, prison time, top 10
Criminal prosecution of companies where safety violations cause serious injuries or fatalities are rare in the U.S. With that in mind, it’s interesting to note how such cases are handled in another democracy.
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Tags: Australia, criminal prosecution, serious injury or death
Following a worker’s death and millions in OSHA fines, some shareholders filed a lawsuit against Cintas Corp. alleging the board has failed to ensure the company complied with safety regulations. Now the company has settled the lawsuit.
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Tags: Cintas, lock out, shareholder lawsuit, unguarded machines, worker's death
A burned out light, two identical doors and an 18-foot fall add up to a costly jury verdict for one employer.
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Tags: 18-foot fall, burned out light, costly jury verdict, disability
In some states, when workers are placed on permanent partial disability, it’s expected that injured employees will make a “good-faith effort” to find alternate employment they can perform. However, one state court just found a reason to overturn that 15-year precedent and allow a worker to keep collecting.
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Tags: back injury, good faith effort, permanent partial disability, sit home and collect comp
A jury in Illinois has awarded the family of a worker $6.74 million after he died at an Archer Daniels Midland plant in 2007.
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Tags: Archer Daniels Midland, record jury verdict, third degree burns
A retailer faces a hefty OSHA fine for exit hazards. This citation also shows how the safety agency is currently using repeat violations against businesses with multiple locations.
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Tags: exit hazards, repeat violations, Toys R Us
Good news for employers in one state: Your workers’ comp insurance rates are going down. But that’s not all the information released. A new report also details who files for comp more often and why.
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Once OSHA finds significant safety violations at one facility, it’s likely to go after other locations owned by the same company.
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Tags: fast moving machinery, OSHA fines, Sims Bark, Sims Stone, struck by equipment
The head of Oregon OSHA has suggested raising fines for serious workplace safety violations. But some large companies say higher fines won’t make them any safer.
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Tags: ConAgra, higher OSHA fines, Oregon OSHA
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