A case before OSHRC argues there is no support for the key 1993 precedent allowing OSHA to cite recordkeeping violations years after they occurred.
Penalties in a 1991 case involving a GM auto plant in Oklahoma City were reduced to $692,000, but OSHA and DOL won an important victory.
"Wherever and whenever this basic, common-sense and legally required safeguard is ignored, OSHA will continue to be present," said Patric Griffin, OSHA's area director in Providence, R.I.
"Employees should never be allowed into an excavation until it is properly and effectively protected against collapse," said Brenda Gordon, OSHA's area director in Braintree, Mass.
Investigators with the Economic and Employment Enforcement Coalition, a multi-agency task force designed to root out California's underground economy, recently targeted Orange County businesses in the construction industry it said were operating illegally.
The Miami-based company faces a proposed $258,935 in penalties.
Another worker died in 2021 due to injuries at the Mississippi facility.