OSHA Enforcement

In a wide-ranging, informal discussion at a May 21 general session at AIHce 2103, U.S. Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA Dr. David Michaels shared his views on budget constraints, the regulatory process and public policy issues in workplace safety and health with  former OSHA Administrator John Henshaw, CIH. Henshaw is vice president of the Academy of Industrial Hygiene....More

OSHA has cited Phoenix Industrial Cleaning for 28 alleged serious safety violations following the death of Bernardo Martinez, 37, who fell from a ladder inside of a storage tank at Sunnyside Corp. in Wheeling, Ill. – a manufacturer of paint removers, paint thinners and wood care products – on Nov. 29, 2012. OSHA has proposed fines of $77,200. The Cook County Medical Examiner’s office ruled in November 2012 that Martinez fell into the 50-ft. chamber, suffering multiple blunt injuries to the head as well as exposure to methylene chloride....More

In conjunction with the observation of Workers’ Memorial Day, OSHA sent a memorandum on April 29 an initiative to further protect temporary employees from workplace hazards. Workers’ Memorial Day is an annual observance to honor workers who have died on the job and renew a commitment to making work sites across the country safer and 2013 marks the 25th anniversary of the observance.  ...More

Howard Mavity probably has tried more worker death cases than any other U.S. attorney. “I’ve tried 460-something death cases,” he notes, “and it makes you think about how they could be prevented.” According to Mavity, as many as 70 percent of the death cases he’s represented involved “skilled, experienced employees making errors. Anecdotally, these were ‘good people,’ with families, who were considered reliable and trusted by their coworkers. But they got nonchalant – casual –about safety.”...More

The holiday season turned tragic for seven shoppers at a Belleview, Washington mall on Dec. 6, 2012, when an escalator malfunctioned. The Washington Department of Labor & Industries (L&I) on April 8 completed a 4-month investigation into the cause of the serious escalator malfunction at Bellevue Square. The agency found that a loose skirt panel next to the steps snagged on the moving stairway, jamming it and breaking the escalator’s chains. ...More