Company hit hard for combustible dust violations
An Ohio furniture manufacturer faces stiff fines from OSHA. Many of the violations involve alleged combustible dust hazards at the plant.
Electrical
Company hit with $406K fine in fatal grain explosion
“Disregard for the law” is how Labor Secretary Hilda Solis describes the events that led to a grain explosion that killed six workers and left two others seriously injured. Now OSHA has decided on the penalties for two companies involved in the incident.
Company to pay $1.3M in connection with worker crushed to death
OSHA has the option to refer cases involving fatalities for criminal prosecution. In this case, criminal prosecution has resulted in a large financial settlement.
Complaint brings OSHA in – repeat violations boost fine to $179K
When OSHA finds multiple violations at a company, you can be sure the agency will be back, particularly if it receives a complaint about safety hazards.
Court: Give him workers’ comp … while he’s in prison
A former electric company lineman with 16 years experience will receive workers’ comp benefits after suffering a severe electrical shock and losing both of his hands. He’s also serving time in prison for manslaughter, which figured into the procedural history of his comp case.
Court: OSHA fine was based on worker’s lie
The Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission recently overturned an OSHA fine issued to a company in connection with a worker injury. OSHRC found OSHA relied upon questionable statements from the employee to issue the violation.
Did poor training lead to worker’s injury?
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Did prior safety violations predict worker’s death in a meat blender?
Prior, less serious safety violations often foreshadow future, more tragic events. They did in the case of an employee who met his death in a meat blender.
Did taking prescription meds prevent injured employee from getting workers’ comp?
A worker had to have his finger amputated after his hand was crushed in a machine. A post-injury drug test showed he had meds in his system that he didn’t have prescriptions for.
Different location, same violation: $140K in repeat fines
OSHA is increasing the amounts some companies pay for fines by extending its repeat violation policy to more situations. Now, the same violation at a different location within five years counts as “repeat.”
Do you have to assume workers don’t have common sense?
Imagine this. A machine in your workplace has a sharp blade that chops things. Do you really have to tell employees not to stick their hands near the blade when the machine is running?
Does workers’ comp pay for injured employee’s housekeeping?
An employer’s insurance coverage doesn’t pay for housekeeping services for workers injured on the job, according to a new ruling by Arizona’s Court of Appeals. But that’s not the case in all states.
Dollar General fined (yet again) for fire hazards at store
OSHA has cited Dollar General, the discount retailer, 52 times in the past five years. A store in Bowdon, GA, was the latest of the company’s locations to be penalized.
Dollar Tree to pay $825K in OSHA fines as part of settlement
Dollar Tree and OSHA have reached an agreement to settle 13 inspections at the retailer’s stores for $825,000. The agreement includes pages of specifics on how Dollar Tree will change its safety program.
Don’t tell OSHA injury was due to ‘careless workers’
Telling OSHA that an injury was the worker’s fault is a sure way to get inspected, according to the head of the agency.
Double fatality in confined space leads to $1.32M in OSHA fines
Seven-figure OSHA fines are becoming more common, especially in cases when the agency believes the company acted with willful disregard to safety.
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