Xpect Discounts Inspections Lead to 'Sizable Fines'
OSHA has cited Marc Glassman Inc., doing business as Xpect Discounts, for alleged repeat and serious safety hazards identified during OSHA inspections at four locations in North Haven, East Haven, and Derby, Conn. The Cleveland-based retailer faces a total of $140,700 in proposed fines.
"Our inspections found that the employer did not assess workplace hazards at these locations to determine what types of personal protective equipment its workers would need, failed to provide adequate forklift operator training, and allowed defective forklifts to stay in service, exposing employees to crushing or struck-by hazards. The employer also failed to maintain or certify illness and injury logs, which are a critical tool in identifying underlying workplace hazards," said Robert Kowalski, OSHA's area director in Bridgeport, Conn. "The sizable fines proposed here reflect the gravity and recurring nature of these hazards."
The citations chiefly address Xpect Discounts' failure to conduct workplace hazard assessments at its North Haven warehouse and North Haven and East Haven retail stores; inadequate personal protective equipment at both North Haven locations; defective powered industrial trucks at the North Haven warehouse and East Haven store; inadequate forklift operator training at the North Haven and East Haven stores; electrical hazards and lack of an emergency eyewash and fire extinguisher training at the North Haven warehouse; and incomplete or uncertified injury and illness logs at all four locations.
All told, the inspections resulted in seven repeat citations with $95,200 in proposed fines, 13 serious citations with $38,500 in fines, and 10 other-than-serious citations with $7,000 in fines. The repeat citations stem from similar hazards cited during previous OSHA inspections at the North Haven warehoue and an Xpect facility in Garfield Heights, Ohio. OSHA issues serious citations when death or serious physical harm is likely to result from hazards about which the employer knew or should have known.
The company has 15 business days from receipt of its citations and proposed penalties to comply, meet with OSHA's area director, or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.