person driving a mower in a large field

Lawn Service Contractor Hit With Citations, $198K in Proposed Penalties

According to OSHA, the contractor allegedly “ignored safety requirements to save time.”

  • By Alex Saurman
  • Mar 28, 2023

A lawn service contractor that allegedly “ignored safety requirements to save time” is facing citations and almost $200,000 in proposed penalties.

After a September 2022 inspection in Fort Campbell, Kentucky—about 60 miles northwest of Nashville, Tennessee—OSHA cited PRIDE Industries for a willful violation for allowing workers to operate turn mowers not equipped with belt/spindle guards, per a news release and the citations.

PRIDE Industries was also issued citations for serious violations for:

  • “Exposing employees to potential lacerations and serious eye injury by permitting workers to operate mowers with shoot guards in a tied-up position.
  • Putting workers at risk of crushing injuries or death in a rollover by allowing employees to operate zero-turn mowers on slopes steeper than 15 degrees.
  • Exposing employees to potential lacerations by allowing unsafe operation of a bench grinder.
  • Allowing workers to operate a tractor without a cover on the power take-off or PTO shaft.”

OSHA’s proposed penalties for PRIDE Industries total $198,667.

"Violations like those found in this inspection show the company's disregard for their workers' safety," said OSHA Area Office Director William Cochran in Nashville, Tennessee, in the news release. "Their failure to follow established safety standards needlessly exposed workers to potentially dangerous and fatal hazards."

PRIDE Industries, recognized as a leading disability employer in 2022 by the National Organization on Disability, is a nonprofit that partners with employers to assist in filling positions or providing services, per its website. With corporate headquarters in California, the organization operates in Washington D.C. and 15 states.

About the Author

Alex Saurman is a former Content Editor for Occupational Health & Safety,who has since joined OH&S’s client services team. She continues to work closely with OH&S’s editorial team and contributes to the magazine.

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