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On June 2, the Department of Labor (DOL) announced the launch of an “opinion letter” program across five agencies, providing workers, employers, and others with compliance assistance. The program includes letters of interpretation from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) explaining the agency’s regulatory requirements. The DOL’s Employee Benefits Security Administration, Mine Safety and […]
The U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) released a second update on its investigation into a fatal hydrogen sulfide release last year at the PEMEX Deer Park Refinery in Deer Park, Texas. The board’s investigation is focused on safe work factors, maintenance policies and procedures, and emergency preparedness at the facility. When the […]
SeaWorld’s Orlando theme park faces $16,550 in Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) fines after a park employee was injured during a training exercise with a killer whale, the agency announced March 21. An agency investigation concluded that the trainer wasn’t properly protected from hazards while working with the whale. OSHA cited SeaWorld with a […]
The Illinois Division of Occupational Safety and Health (IL OSHA) of the state’s Department of Labor (DOL) released a report of its investigation into the drowning of a public works employee in Springfield, the agency announced March 14. In February 2023, a 20-year-old maintenance worker drowned in a 12-inch water main vault that flooded during […]
A Decatur, Alabama, manufacturer of GE appliances faces $193,585 in proposed Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) penalties after a frontline supervisor’s death, the agency announced January 17. The 58-year-old supervisor suffered fatal injuries while trying to service a door molding machine. Agency inspectors found the company allowed workers to bypass the machine’s safety doors […]
The Harbor Animal Services Center of San Pedro, California, operated by Los Angeles City Animal Services, faces a $563,250 fine after a series of employee animal attacks and bites, the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) announced December 17. One worker, whose leg was badly mauled, required hospitalization, according to the agency. The […]
A Mississippi steel pipe manufacturer has reached a settlement agreement with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to resolve citations and penalties involving one worker’s death and another’s amputation injuries, the agency announced November 22. On January 19, two employees of Jindal Tubular USA LLC in Bay Saint Louis were setting up a site […]
Artco-Bell Corp., a Temple, Texas, school furnishings manufacturer, faces a $257,183 Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) fine after a worker sustained serious, permanent hand and arm injuries, the agency announced October 21. According to OSHA, the worker’s injuries could have been prevented had the employer installed required machine guards. Agency investigators learned that in […]
Poultry processor Mar-Jac Poultry MS LLC reached a settlement with the Department of Labor (DOL), agreeing to pay $164,814 in fines and implement enhanced safety measures to protect its employees from well-known machine hazards, the department announced August 14. In July 2023, a teenage worker at the company’s Hattiesburg, Mississippi, facility became caught in a […]
Jerlow Construction Co., an Edmond, Oklahoma, contractor, faces $85,173 in Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) fines after a 61-year-old pipe layer suffered fatal injuries when a 9-foot-deep trench collapsed at a residential worksite near Shawnee, OSHA announced August 6. The employer has a history of workplace safety violations dating back to 2018, including three […]