The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit has found Altor Inc. - a construction company based in Washington Township, New Jersey and its president Vasilio Saites in contempt of court for failing to pay $412,000 in penalties assessed by OSHA. The agency cited Altor for numerous safety violations, including multiple willful violations of OSHA’s fall protection standards.
OSHA has cited Payne Enterprises Inc. – a plumbing contractor based in Dayton, Ohio – for exposing employees to multiple trenching and excavation hazards following an employee fatality. The company faces penalties of $145,860.
OSHA has cited U.S. Nonwovens Corp. – a home and personal care fabric product manufacturer – for repeat and serious safety violations after an employee suffered a fractured hand at the plant in Hauppauge, New York. The company faces $287,212 in penalties.
Investigators determined the employee’s injury occurred when his hand became caught in a fabric-softener sheet-cutting machine.
Heat stroke prevention, working safely while pregnant and an oil refinery fire in Texas were among the top occupational safety and health stories featured on ISHN.com this week.
OSHA has cited Pukall Lumber Company Inc. – a lumber mill in Arbor Vitae, Wisconsin – for exposing employees to multiple safety hazards following a worker fatality. The company faces penalties of $348,467.
An employee suffered fatal injuries when caught in an outdoor bark conveyor belt in January 2019. OSHA cited Pukall Lumber for two willful violations for failing to implement energy control procedures, and ensure the conveyer had adequate guarding to prevent employees from coming in contact with the moving parts.
A renovation project in Pennsylvania has resulted in OSHA citations against a New Jersey contractor. The agency cited Scot Christopher Rule LLC for exposing workers to lead and other workplace hazards as the company renovated and remodeled a worksite in Easton, Pennsylvania. The company faces $104,637 in proposed penalties.
OSHA has cited Transdev Services Inc. for exposing employees at a Norcross, Georgia, worksite to safety and health hazards. The company faces $188,714 in penalties.
OSHA cited Transdev Services for obstructing access to emergency eyewash and shower stations designed to minimize the effects of employee exposure to corrosive chemicals. OSHA also cited the company for failing to ensure to label hazardous chemicals; provide training on hazardous chemicals and incipient stage firefighting and fire extinguisher use; and train and evaluate forklift operators properly.
Workers toiling in a trench in St. Louis, Missouri were in danger because their workspace was unprotected by a trench box or some other trench protection, according to OSHA, which cited R.V. Wagner Inc for multiple violations.
The citations issued to the Affton, Missouri-based company were for a project involving the installation of concrete storm water pipes. Proposed penalties for violations of trench safety standards: $212,158.
The 2016 case of a worker killed by an electric shock while repairing a ceiling light fixture came to a close recently, with an administrative law judge affirming OSHA citations issued to the man’s employer.
The fatality involved a worker who was untrained in electrical safety work practices. The Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission (OSHRC) judge ruled that Jersey City Medical Center willfully failed to train the employee for the hazardous electrical work he was directed to perform.
Once again, fall-related violations were behind most of the biggest fines OSHA issued to construction companies in the second quarter of 2019.
One of the contractors, Shawn D. Purvis, has been charged criminally in relation to a death that occurred on one of his company's jobsites.
