New Jersey Company Receives 39 Citations for Safety Hazards
With proposed fines totaling $164,700, New Jersey-based Brite Services Inc. was investigated by OSHA after employees claimed that the company prevented them from leaving the building during an emergency.
Brite Services Inc., operating as Star Laundry, faces $164,700 in fines at the Paterson, N.J. location. An investigation was conducted after employees alleged that the company would not permit workers to exit the building during an emergency.
The company’s 39 fines received from OSHA include electrical hazards, obstructed exit routes, and improperly marked exit routes.
"The vast number and range of safety and health hazards observed by OSHA at this facility indicates the lack of a functioning safety and health management system," said Lisa Levy, director of OSHA's area office in Hasbrouck Heights, on the OSHA website. "Each employer is responsible for ensuring a safe and healthful work environment, which Brite Services did not do. This company has the opportunity now to educate itself, correct these hazards and protect its workers."
Other violations ranged from failing to provide guardrails and covers for open pits to not evaluating the workplace for confined spaces requiring permits.
A full list of the 39 violations can be viewed on the OSHA website.