All five companies prosecuted for the Dec. 11, 2005, explosion and fire at an oil storage depot in Hertfordshire, England, either pleaded guilty or were found guilty by a jury. Sentencing is set for July 16.
The Minerals Management Service issued the directive June 18, making it effective immediately. Lessees and operators in offshore federal waters must estimate worst-case flow rates for a blowout when they file for a new permit, development plan, or exploration plan.
The railroad issued an employee a notification of formal investigation in reprisal for reporting a work injury and also retaliated against the employee by disciplining him in the form of a letter of censure, OSHA said, noting these actions violate the Federal Rail Safety Act.
Following a safety and health complaint, an investigation uncovered 13 serious and repeat violations that OSHA said "put workers at risk for potential injury or possible death."
The citation is based in part on information that two children living in renovated Michigan homes had tested positive for elevated blood lead levels.
The pair "led a massive counterfeit goods operation that stretched from China to New York," said Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer, calling the case one of the largest prosecutions of its kind in U.S. history.
"This employer had no business conducting work inside the grain bins without taking protective measures to ensure that its employees were working in a safe environment," said OSHA Regional Administrator Charles Adkins.
According to EEOC, a jobseeker who has multiple sclerosis applied for one of six open barista positions but was never contacted for an interview; meanwhile, individuals with less experience and availability were hired instead.
“We believe the employer intentionally underpaid its workers," said California State Labor Commissioner Angela Bradstreet. "This not only robs those employees of the money they earned, it also hurts other contractors who chose to do the right thing and comply with the law."
“NPDES permits are an integral part of the nation’s system to protect rivers and lakes from pollution, and mercury is a dangerous pollutant, especially for children and pregnant women,” said Stan Meiburg, EPA Region 4 acting regional administrator.
“It’s an unfortunate fact that monetary penalties just aren’t enough,” said OSHA chief David Michaels, Ph.D., MPH. “We believe that nothing focuses the mind like the threat of doing time in prison, which is why we need criminal penalties for employers who are determined to gamble with their workers’ lives and consider it merely a cost of doing business when a worker dies on the job.”
"It is unacceptable for employers to retaliate against employees who raise safety and health concerns," said Robert Kulick, OSHA's regional administrator in New York. "Employers will be held accountable if they violate workers' legal right to have a voice in the workplace on health and safety."
In all, the employer faces allegations of three willful and 16 serious violations carrying nearly $201,000 in penalties, plus an other-than-serious charge with no proposed penalty related to voluntary respirator use.
According to DOJ, on some of their asbestos projects, the hazardous material was removed in violation of EPA and OSHA regulations and then illegally dumped on unwitting landowners’ properties in Poland, N.Y.
A whistleblower brought the lawsuit, alleging the manufacturer had violated the Anti-kickback Act and the False Claims Act by paying various forms of illegal remuneration to physicians who prescribed the use of the company’s devices for Medicare and Medicaid patients.
Violations found at both stores include the company's failure to maintain exit routes, as well as walking and working surfaces that were free and unobstructed, to implement a hazard communication program, and to protect employees from electrical hazards.
"Pollution prevention acts were put in place to protect our natural resources," said George E. B. Holding, U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina. "It is disheartening when we see companies and individuals knowingly and purposely dumping oil-contaminated waste into those resources."
According to EEOC, the company subjected an employee to unfair and heightened job scrutiny, gave him poor performance ratings, and refused to promote him based on his age, 61, despite his successful job performance.
The safety consulting firm that received the VPP award assists companies with establishing and managing health and safety management systems. The effectiveness of its own such system at its office in Mars, Pa., merited recognition, OSHA said.
Under Medicare rules, the companies could bill for expensive non-emergency transports only if the patient could not be transported by any other means, such as by car or by wheelchair van. Medicare audited the companies and found they had charged tens of millions of dollars for trips that did not meet this standard.