April 16, 2024

US Department of Labor provides support to families of fallen workers, stresses importance of workplace safety on Workers Memorial Day

LINCOLN, NE Fifteen years after the fatal, work-related incident that took the life of Waverly High Alumni Tonya Malley Ford’s uncle, she has turned her family’s loss into a national event. 

April 16, 2024

US Department of Labor finds employee fatally injured after manufacturer failed to protect her from caught-between, struck-by hazards

FRANKLIN, OH ‒ An Ohio subsidiary of one of the world’s largest automotive suppliers could have prevented a 26-year-old employee in Franklin from being fatally crushed in October 2023 if the company had provided proper machine guarding. 

April 15, 2024

US Department of Labor cites South Florida contractor for lack of heat illness prevention program after heatstroke claims 26-year-old worker’s life

FORT LAUDERDALE, FL – Making the trip from Mexico to South Florida, a 26-year-old man arrived in September 2023, ready to start a new job on a sugar cane farm in Belle Glade. Four days later, he suffered fatal heat-related injuries while working in an open field as the heat index reached 97 degrees.

April 12, 2024

Federal safety inspections find Kansas construction contractor again failing to protect workers from potentially deadly fall hazards at Missouri homesites

WELLSVILLE, KS – Federal workplace safety inspectors found a Kansas roofing contractor again putting its employees at risk of falls from elevation — the construction industry’s deadliest hazard — by not providing required protective equipment at two residential worksites in October 2023. 

April 11, 2024

Proper planning, safeguards could have prevented New Bedford dock collapse, US Department of Labor inspection finds

BRAINTREE, MA – A Connecticut marine and heavy construction contractor could have prevented the October 2023 collapse of a 200-foot section of pier on Hervey Tichon Avenue in New Bedford — which plunged five workers into the Acushnet River and injured two of them — by adhering to legally required safety standards, a U.S. Department of Labor inspection has determined. 

April 11, 2024

US Department of Labor settlement affirms 3 dozen workplace safety citations against Camden auto recycler, parts supplier; assesses $868K in penalties

CAMDEN, NJ – The U.S. Department of Labor has reached a settlement agreement with one of the East Coast's largest auto recyclers and used parts suppliers affirming 35 citations issued for workplace safety violations at its Camden facility and assessing related penalties.

April 10, 2024

US Department of Labor, industry partners to promote road construction worker safety during 2024 National Work Zone Awareness Week

ATLANTA – The U.S. Department of Labor is joining with Georgia’s leading construction organizations to promote safety for people employed in work zones near moving traffic and encouraging industry employers to take a break to educate workers on how to protect themselves from harm during 2024 National Work Zone Awareness Week, April 15–19.

April 10, 2024

US Department of Labor fines Colorado Trader Joe’s nearly $217K for violating federal safety regulations

Employer name:             Trader Joe’s Co. 

Investigation site:         5910 South University Blvd.

                                                 Greenwood Village, CO 80121

April 10, 2024

US Department of Labor finds Florida contractor ignored federal safety measures that could have prevented welder’s confined space fatality

PALATKA, FL – As he had many other days, the morning shift welder arrived at 5 a.m. to work at St. John’s Ship Building Inc. in Palatka on Aug. 28, 2023. Tasked with doing some fabrication work in a 4-foot by 8-foot space in a ship’s hull, the employee began work unaware that fatal suffocation would soon end his life. 

April 8, 2024

US Department of Labor finds electric vehicle battery maker again exposes workers to serious health hazards after investigation of Commerce fire

ATLANTA – For the second time in less than a year, federal workplace safety inspectors have found a global electric vehicle battery manufacturer exposing employees to serious safety and health hazards at its Commerce plant, after workers suffered potentially permanent respiratory damage in an October 2023 lithium battery fire.

April 5, 2024

St. Louis contractor faces $267K in fines after again exposing roofing workers to potentially deadly fall hazards, this time at 5 Wentzville job sites

ST. LOUIS – Federal workplace safety inspectors found a Missouri roofing contractor again risking the safety of its employees by failing to protect them against the construction industry’s deadliest hazard — falls from heights— at five residential worksites in Wentzville in October and November 2023. 

April 3, 2024

Department of Labor investigation finds one of the nation’s largest modular home manufacturers exposed workers to dozens of safety, health risks

AUSTIN, TX An Austin subsidiary of one of the nation’s largest producers of modular and manufactured homes faces $272,479 in penalties after federal investigators found the company exposing employees to more than two dozen serious violations during an October 2023 inspection.

March 29, 2024

US Department of Labor issues final rule to clarify rights to employee representation during OSHA inspections

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced a final rule clarifying the rights of employees to authorize a representative to accompany an Occupational Safety and Health Administration compliance officer during an inspection of their workplace will be published in the Federal Register on April 1.

March 27, 2024

Department of Labor holds PrimeLending vice president, managers liable after employees fired for reporting consumer fraud concerns

SAN FRANCISCO ‒ The U.S. Department of Labor has ordered a former senior vice president and two managers employed by PrimeLending to pay $35,000 in emotional damages and the legal fees of two California employees who the company fired illegally after they reported a branch manager pressured them to pass on fees to loan applicants caused by the company’s internal processing delays. 

March 26, 2024

US Department of Labor investigation finds HBD/Thermoid again exposed employees to unsafe conditions, proposes additional $321K in penalties

BELLEFONTAINE, OH ‒ In October 2023, following the receipt of a complaint, U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration inspectors opened an inspection at an Ohio industrial hose manufacturer’s Bellefontaine plant. This was OSHA’s eighth investigation into HBD Thermoid Inc. since 2013. 

March 26, 2024

US Department of Labor investigation of employee’s severe injuries finds Ohio manufacturer failed to correct similar hazards cited in 2022

SHELBY, OH ‒ Despite citations from the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration for similar hazards at its Shelby facility in 2022, ArcelorMittal Tubular Products USA LLC — a subsidiary of one of North America’s largest steel suppliers — failed to protect a 60-year-old employee from severe injuries after they became caught in a pinch point created by a bundle of steel tubes and a rotating roller conveyor in December 2023.

March 21, 2024

New York roofing company withdraws contest notice after vigorous litigation by Department of Labor, affirming egregious willful citations, $687K fine

HO-HO-KUS, NJ – Vigorous litigation by the U.S. Department of Labor has convinced a New York roofing company to stop contesting the egregious willful and other citations it received and the $687,536 penalty assessed after a 2022 workplace safety investigation at a Ho-Ho-Kus worksite. 

March 21, 2024

US Department of Labor finds Alabama forklift parts manufacturer could have prevented 38-year-old foundry worker’s fatal injuries

CULLMAN, AL – A 38-year-old worker at a Cullman manufacturing plant suffered fatal injuries after getting caught inside a molding machine, a fatality the employer could have prevented by following established safety rules, a U.S. Department of Labor workplace safety investigation found.

March 20, 2024

US Department of Labor finds Alabama sausage manufacturer again exposed workers to deadly hazards at Attalla worksite, proposes $116K in penalties

Employer:      Dean Sausage Co. Inc.

                        3750 Pleasant Valley Road

                        Attalla, AL 35954

 

March 19, 2024

US Department of Labor joins industry leaders, stakeholders to stress workplace safety during 2024 Stand Up 4 Grain Safety Week, March 25-29

WASHINGTON ‒ Home of the iconic Corn Palace — a symbol of the region’s healthy agricultural climate since 1892 — Mitchell, South Dakota will be the host location on March 25 for the national kick-off of the 2024 Stand Up 4 Grain Safety Week.