New York CVS Failed to Provide Emergency Action Plan
Because the pharmacy has failed to provide emergency action plans at other locations, this location received a repeat violation.
A CVS Pharmacy in Red Hook, N.Y. must pay $40,000 for failing to have a strategy in place for employees in the event of a fire or another emergency. OSHA received a complaint about the lack of a site-specific emergency plan that led to the investigation.
"The fact that CVS has repeatedly failed to develop emergency action plans is disturbing. Hazards can vary from location to location, so it is imperative that each store has and maintains an effective emergency action plan specific to that store," said Kimberly Castillon, OSHA's area director in Albany, in a statement on OSHA’s website. "For the safety and health of its workers, CVS needs to ensure that the proper safeguards are in place and in use at all of its locations."
Site-specific emergency plans are mandatory for every business that employs more than 10 workers. Thus, the pharmacy received one repeat violation for this incident. CVS was previously cited for the same violation at locations in Connecticut and Rhode Island.
"Hazards, such as this, can be prevented if employers implement and maintain an effective illness and injury prevention program in which management and employees work together to identify and eliminate hazardous conditions," said Robert Kulick, OSHA's regional administrator for New York, on OSHA’s website.
Because this precaution is necessary for many companies, OSHA has provided an interactive eTool on its website to aid management in emergency plan implementation.