A Norfolk, Nebraska flooring materials company tried to hide hazardous machines from federal inspectors, according to OSHA. The agency said MP Global Products LLC also threatened to fire employees who complained about unsafe working conditions during an investigation into why a 65-year-old temporary worker suffered the amputation of one finger and severe damage to another when his left hand was caught as he operated a machine.

Not long after a miner who maintained a dust collector machine at a cement facility in San Bernardino County, California, contacted the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) about safety hazards, he was suspended and then terminated, in April 2014.