The company, which provides test and scoring services, allegedly fired an employee for refusing to work on Saturday, a day she and her denomination observed as the Sabbath.
High-heat procedures are now required for five industries when temperatures reach 95 degrees or above: agriculture; construction; landscaping; oil & gas extraction; and transportation or delivery of agricultural products, construction material, or other heavy materials.
OSHA head Dr. David Michaels said employers are allegedly withholding written certificates attesting successful completion of HAZWOPER training to prevent workers from leaving their employ.
Agency inspectors passing by the worksite observed a worker installing a water main in an apparently unprotected 6-foot-by-6-inch deep trench. An inspection was opened on the spot and OSHA found that the trench lacked protection against a potential collapse of its walls.
The mining operation, located in Wise County, Va., was cited for five contributory violations in the August 2009 death of an electrician/repairman who was fatally injured when a portion of mine rib collapsed upon him.
Investigators found that an employee of the Shawnee, Okla.-based convenience store chain was fired after complaining about safety hazards at a store. In addition to back pay and reinstatement, the Labor Department is seeking compensatory and punitive damages for the employee.
“Employers who respond to disabled individuals with knee-jerk exclusions based on myths, fears, and stereotypes, rather than considering individual abilities, put themselves at risk,” said senior trial attorney Eduardo Juarez of EEOC’s San Antonio Field Office.
At one of the sites, the farmer-owned company failed to test the atmosphere before entry and to have an employee entering wear a safety harness and lifeline. It also failed to post an employee to observe the entry. Both facilities failed to turn off and lock out power to the auger before workers entered the grain bins, investigators said.
"The Kansas Department of Health and Environment’s extensive monitoring system helps locate waters in need of our attention. We now must take action to clean them up,” said EPA Region 7 Administrator Karl Brooks.
Many of the alleged violations concern the nationwide food distributor’s process safety management program, which was also the case in April, when a sister facility in Nampa, Idaho, roughly 180 miles away, was charged with penalties totaling $153,000.
The 24 alleged serious violations that resulted from a site-specific targeting program investigation included a failure to have at least two suitable gas masks available and accessible; lack of developed confined space procedures; and grinding wheel, compressed air, and electrical shock hazards.
"If OSHA's standards regarding proper trench sloping, shoring, and shielding were followed, it is possible this tragedy could have been avoided," said Michael Rivera, OSHA's area director in Corpus Christi.
EPA inspectors found Tanco had not properly implemented its Spill Prevention Control and Countermeasures plan, including requirements for secondary containment and tank integrity testing, both of which are designed to prevent or minimize the impacts from accidental releases.
Offered last year by the state Department of Labor & Industries, the Employer Assistance Program has helped more than 4,800 companies avoid becoming delinquent on their workers' compensation accounts.
Last year's event in San Antonio, Texas (pictured), drew 2,836 attendees representing all areas and professions affiliated with the safety and health industry. For this year's conference in Orlando, organizers are expecting to up that number to at least 3,000.
The two Canadian companies involved, the contractor and a drywall/stucco subcontractor, both pleaded guilty to failing to ensure the injured worker was protected by a guardrail.
EEOC filed the suit in New Jersey, saying the health care provider unlawfully fired employees who needed medical leave.
In addition, OSHA issued the company 50 serious and two other-than-serious violations for failing to provide proper protective equipment for employees working with lead and other extremely dangerous dust and chemicals, and failing to develop or implement a hazard communication program, among other things.
Finalizing a proposed rule to incorporate more than 40 voluntary consensus standards in federal pipeline safety regulations, PHMSA said it will not adopt the 2008 editions of NFPA 58, Liquefied Petroleum Gas Code, and NFPA 59, Utility Liquefied Petroleum Gas Plant Code.
The company also agreed to spend at least $500 million on safety measures at its Texas City plant. Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis today said "The size of the penalty rightly reflects BP's disregard for workplace safety."