OSHA Enforcement

After allegedly providing false documentation and making false representations claiming that hazards cited in October 2013 related to hydraulic presses had been corrected, Formed Fiber Technologies LLC has been issued 14 safety citations by OSHA, including willful and repeat citations, as well as a notice of failure to abate with proposed fines totaling $816,500 (the original penalty was $69,000)....More

U.S. Sen. Bob Casey is pressing OSHA for better protection of temporary workers, after the tragic death of a 50-year-old temporary employee in a CSC Sugar plant near Philadelphia. Casey, a Pennsylvania Democrat, fired off a letter to OSHA Administrator Dr. David Michaels expressing “deep concern about employment and workplace safety practices involving temporary workers.” Casey also expresses concern “about possible regulatory or legislative impediments to OSHA’s ability to ensure safe and healthful workplaces for temporary workers.”...More

Industrial-service provider Shar-Craft Inc. is facing $82,090 in Cal/OSHA fines stemming from the agency’s investigation into a flash fire that burned an industrial painter inside a metal tank.   On Dec. 17, 2013, the worker was spraying a flammable coating on the inside walls of a large steel tank when a fire was ignited by a portable halogen light. The 37-year-old man was rescued but spent three days in the burn unit at San Joaquin Community Hospital....More

An OSHA investigation into the death of a temporary worker at an Amazon fulfillment center in Avenel, N.J., has prompted the agency to cite five firms for safety violations. On Dec. 4, 2013, temporary worker Ronald Smith died from after he was caught in between a conveyor system and crushed while performing sorting operations at the Amazon facility. Based on its investigation into the fatality, OSHA has cited five companies for serious violations, including the contractor responsible for operating the facility, and four temporary staffing agencies....More