Category: Enforcement and Inspection

As today’s workplace becomes more complex, regulation of that workplace increases. In this section, you’ll find the practical advice you need to understand exactly what OSHA, other federal agencies, and their state counterparts, require of you, and to comply in the ways that best satisfy both your and their needs. Look also for important court decisions, advice on how to handle enforcement actions, and news of upcoming changes in workplace health and safety law.

Free Special Report: What to Expect from an OSHA Inspection

OSHA Cites Amazon for Delaying Treatment of Injured Workers

Amazon failed to provide adequate medical treatment for traumatic and chronic injuries at a fulfillment center in Castleton-on-Hudson, New York, according to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). The agency cited the Amazon warehouse for a serious violation of the Occupational Safety and Health Act’s General Duty Clause (§5(a)(1)) and is seeking a proposed […]

ALJ Upholds OSHA Workplace Violence Citation

An administrative law judge (ALJ) with the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission upheld the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) citation of UHS of Delaware Inc. (UHS-DE) and UHS of Fuller Inc. for exposing their employees to workplace violence without adequate protections at the Fuller Hospital in Attleboro, Massachusetts, OSHA announced April 25. Review […]

OSHA Again Cites Dollar Tree, Dollar General for Blocked Exits

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) again cited discount retailers Dollar Tree and Dollar General for blocked exit routes in their stores. On April 24, the agency announced it’s seeking $770,136 in penalties for hazards related to obstructed exits, unsafe storage of materials, fire, and other hazards at Dollar Tree stores in East Providence […]

OSHA Cites Veterans Affairs Healthcare Facility Over Deadly Maintenance Hazards

Federal safety inspectors found that the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) endangered maintenance workers at its healthcare facility in Prescott, Ariz., by allowing them to work on steam lines without ensuring they followed required safety procedures. Similar hazards previously killed two workers at a VA facility in Connecticut. The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety […]

Equipment Company Facing $272K Cal/OSHA Fine

On April 19, the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) announced that Meeder Equipment Company, a Rancho Cucamonga, California, equipment company, faces $272,250 in fines for serious safety violations following a confined space death of a worker who suffocated in a 10,000-gallon propane gas tank. On August 18, 2022, a mechanic employed by […]

Mississippi Farm Cited in South African Worker’s Death

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced April 19 that Bare Bones Farms of Greenwood, Mississippi, is facing fines totaling $90,182 for willful and serious safety violations following the death of a teenage South African worker, who suffocated in a grain bin. The 19-year-old, 2 coworkers, and their supervisor climbed into a storage bin […]

Dollar General Facing $554K In New OSHA Fines

Dollar General Corp. and its parent, Dolgencorp LLC, face $554,486 in new Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) fines following inspections of stores in Texas and Wisconsin, the agency announced April 13. At stores near Houston, Texas, and Green Bay, Wisconsin, OSHA inspectors found exit routes and walkways blocked, which are unsafe conditions that make […]

Florida Contractor Cited a Sixth Time

On March 30, 2023, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced that a Fort Walton Beach, Florida, framing contractor has been cited a sixth time since 2021 for not complying with OSHA standards for fall and eye protection and other hazards. Panhandle Guest Design Inc. now faces new proposed penalties totaling $82,500 following the […]

Florida Contractor Faces $464K OSHA Fine

A Tampa, Florida, framing contractor with a history of safety violations faces $464,079 in new Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) fines for 3 willful violations and 1 repeat violation, the agency announced March 28. On September 24, 2022, OSHA inspectors observed employees of Domingos 54 Construction Inc. without fall safety gear while working atop […]

Texas Porsche Dealership Must Pay Whistleblower $15K

An Austin, Texas, Porsche dealership must pay $15,000 in compensatory damages to a whistleblower who was terminated after informing coworkers of their COVID-19 exposure risk, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced March 27. On March 20, Labor Department (DOL) attorneys obtained a consent judgment in the U.S. District Court for the Western District […]