Dollar General store allows blocked and locked exits, fire and other hazards, faces more than $83K in fines for repeated safety violations. Discount chain retailer has history of OSHA violations

MARCH 23, 2015

BOWDON, GEORGIA

Dollar General Corp. has been cited again by the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration, this time for four repeated safety violations found in a December 2014 inspection of the Bowdon store at 203 Wedowee St. OSHA initiated the inspection after receiving a complaint and has proposed penalties of $83,050. 

Dollar General stores around the country have received more than 40 citations after more than 70 OSHA inspections since 2009. The violations typically found include blocked exits and electrical panels and improperly maintained fire extinguishers. 

"Dollar General has been repeatedly cited for blocked exits and electrical panels in stores around the country, but we continue to find these hazards. This appears to be an example of a corporation not sharing safety information with all its entities and employees," said Christi Griffin, director of OSHA's Atlanta-West Area Office. "The company needs to address these issues at its locations immediately." 

Repeated citations were issued for the employer failing to ensure that exit doors were unlocked and exit routes and electrical access panels were not blocked by merchandise, display racks or supplies. Store management also failed to have portable fire extinguishers inspected annually. 

A repeated violation exists when an employer previously has been cited for the same or a similar violation of a standard, regulation, rule or order at any facility in federal enforcement states within the last five years. This employer was previously cited for these same violations in 2014 and 2010.

With headquarters in Goodlettsville, Tennessee, Dollar General is a discount retailer with more than 100,000 employees nationwide. Workers are typically engaged in stocking shelves and selling merchandise.

The company has 15 business days from receipt of its citations and proposed penalties to comply, request a conference with OSHA's area director, or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.

To ask questions, obtain compliance assistance, file a complaint or report workplace hospitalizations, fatalities or situations posing imminent danger to workers, the public should call OSHA's toll-free hotline at 800-321-OSHA (6742) or the agency's Atlanta-West Area Office at 678-903-7301. 

Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, employers are responsible for providing safe and healthful workplaces for their employees. OSHA's role is to ensure these conditions for America's working men and women by setting and enforcing standards, and providing training, education and assistance. For more information, visit http://www.osha.gov.

Edsal Manufacturing repeatedly allows safety hazards, faces more than $294K in fines. Citations for staffing company for failing to train temporary workers in safety procedures

MARCH 23, 2015

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS

Left unguarded, dangerous machines with moving parts cause hundreds of thousands of workers to suffer finger, hand or foot amputations and other serious injuries each year in the United States. Despite these dangers, one Chicago-based manufacturer has repeatedly ignored the risks and has been found in violation of safety and health standards four times in the last five years.


Edsal Manufacturing Co. was inspected again in September 2014 by U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration investigators and cited for five repeated and 16 serious safety and health violations, including electrical hazards and failing to train workers in forklift operations and machine hazards. Edsal faces proposed penalties of $294,300 and has been placed in OSHA's Severe Violator Enforcement Program.


"When a machine lacks safety features, one slip and a worker can lose a hand," said Kathy Webb, area director of OSHA's Calumet City office. "With stakes this high, Edsal Manufacturing must ensure the safety and health of its 1,200 employees. This company has shown, time and time again, it does not take worker safety seriously. That attitude needs to change." 


Responding to a complaint, agency investigators saw workers endangered by machine hazards. While operating mechanical power presses, workers were exposed to unguarded foot pedals, point of operation and chains and sprockets. 

The inspection resulted in five repeated violations. Edsal Manufacturing was cited for similar violations at this same facility in 2010 and 2012. The company also failed to store pallets of paint properly; provide training to workers on hazardous chemicals in the workplace; maintain fire extinguishers; inspect cranes periodically for safety issues; and provide welding screens and eye protection. Electrical safety hazards and lack of training were also noted. A total of 16 serious safety and health violations were issued. 


OSHA has also cited KG Payroll & Staffing Services Corp., which provides temporary labor to the plant, for failing to train workers on personnel protective equipment needed for the job and the potential hazards of chemicals used in the facility. The company has a contract with Edsal Manufacturing to provide training for any temporary workers it assigns to the plant. The Berwyn company was issued two serious safety violations with proposed penalties of $11,000.

An OSHA violation is serious if death or serious physical harm could result from a hazard an employer knew or should have known exists. 


OSHA issues repeated violations if an employer was previously cited for the same or a similar violation of any standard, regulation, rule or order at any other facility in federal enforcement states within the last five years. 


View the current citations at http://www.osha.gov/ooc/citations/EdsalMfgCoInc996548.pdf* http://www.osha.gov/ooc/citations/KGPayrollandStaffing1014962.pdf* http://www.osha.gov/ooc/citations/EdsalMfgCoInc997058.pdf*

The company has been inspected by OSHA 24 times since 1975, resulting in the issuance of multiple safety and health violations. 


Edsal Manufacturing employs workers to make steel storage-systems. Both companies have 15 business days from receipt of its citations and penalties to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA's area director, or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission. 


To ask questions, obtain compliance assistance, file a complaint, or report workplace hospitalizations, fatalities or situations posing imminent danger to workers, the public should call OSHA's toll-free hotline at 800-321-OSHA (6742) or the Calumet City Area Office at 708-891-3800.


Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, employers are responsible for providing safe and healthful workplaces for their employees. OSHA's role is to ensure these conditions for America's working men and women by setting and enforcing standards, and providing training, education and assistance. For more information, visit http://www.osha.gov.

New York City Transit Authority retaliates against employee for participating in safety inspection and filing complaint, OSHA finds. Whistleblower investigation concludes that "culture must change"

MARCH 24, 2015

NEW YORK, NY

It began as a routine safety inspection in August 2012 at the New York City Transit Authority's Linden Shop maintenance facility in Brooklyn. It ended with the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration finding that the transit authority and one of its supervisors discriminated against an employee for exercising his safety rights under the National Transit Systems Security Act*. As a result, OSHA has ordered the NYCTA and supervisor Mark Ruggerio to pay the employee $52,500 in damages and take other corrective action.

"The transit authority's response to this worker's actions suggests that employee safety is not its primary concern. Threatening or retaliating against even a single employee, as happened in this case, harms all employees. It can intimidate them into silence and allow hazards to flourish undetected until they injure or sicken workers. This type of culture must change," said Robert Kulick, OSHA's regional administrator in New York.

The employee and Mark Ruggerio, then the acting general superintendent at the Linden shop, participated in a safety inspection by the New York Public Employees Safety and Health Bureau on Aug. 9, 2012. The PESH inspectors asked about the condition of a drill press, and Ruggerio told them it was not working. The employee stated that the press was operating and turned it on. The supervisor then threatened the employee with a loss of overtime work. PESH inspectors informed Ruggerio that his behavior appeared to be retaliatory and he needed to stop. He did not.

The employee filed a timely whistleblower complaint with OSHA, which enforces the antidiscrimination provisions of NTSSA. He also subsequently transferred to another job at the Linden shop. In July 2013, the employee contacted OSHA regarding possible harassment by his new supervisor and, in turn, OSHA contacted the transit authority for further information. The new supervisor then shared information unrelated to the complaint with the employee's fellow workers, leading them to shun him.

OSHA investigators determined that the employee's complaint had merit. Specifically, he engaged in protected activity when he took part in the safety inspection, filed his complaint and shared his concerns with OSHA. As a result of their findings, OSHA has ordered the transit authority to pay the employee $48,000 in punitive damages, $2,500 in compensatory damages, expunge the complainant's employment records and not retaliate against him in the future. It also orders Ruggerio individually to pay the complainant $2,000 in punitive damages.

In addition, the NYCTA must provide all Linden Yards managers with OSHA whistleblower training, provide all new hires with information on OSHA jurisdiction and post a notice to all employees of their whistleblower rights under NTSSA.

Both the employee and the transit authority have 30 days from receipt of OSHA's findings to file objections and request a hearing before a U.S. Department of Labor administrative law judge. If no objections are filed, the findings and order will become final and not subject to court review.

OSHA enforces the whistleblower* provisions of NTSSA and 21 other statutes protecting employees who report violations of various airline, commercial motor carrier, consumer product, environmental, financial reform, food safety, health care reform, nuclear, pipeline, worker safety, public transportation agency, maritime and securities laws.

Employers are prohibited from retaliating against employees who raise various protected concerns or provide protected information to the employer or to the government. Employees who believe that they have been retaliated against for engaging in protected conduct may file a complaint with the secretary of labor to request an investigation by OSHA's Whistleblower Protection Program. 

Detailed information on employee whistleblower rights, including fact sheets, is available at http://www.whistleblowers.gov/. 

Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, employers are responsible for providing safe and healthful workplaces for their employees. OSHA's role is to ensure these conditions for America's working men and women by setting and enforcing standards, and providing training, education and assistance. For more information, visit http://www.osha.gov.

OSHA SAYS SAFETY SHORTCUTS CAUSED FATAL 2014 EXPLOSION AT U.S. STEEL IN FAIRFIELD, ALABAMA

MARCH 25, 2015

BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA (WBRC)

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) said on Wednesday that "safety shortcuts led to the explosion that killed two U.S. Steel workers in 2014.  Unfortunately, this is so true most of the time when accidents occur in the workplace: lack of training, lack of maintenance, inexperienced personnel, and human errors are the leading causes of deaths or injuries.

Edward Lamar Bryant, 53, and Leo Bridges, 61, were killed and a third employee was injured in the September explosion.
OSHA investigators said the explosion was caused by opening and closing a high-pressure valve while a furnace was running. OHSA said management put workers at risk for injury when they ordered workers to operate the valve this way.
"This employer chose productivity over the safety of its workers, and two people died as a result of this decision," said Ramona Morris, OSHA's area director.
OHSA has issued U.S. Steel a willful citation as well as seven serious citations for:
-Not developing and using a procedure to control the hazardous energy to allow workers to operate the valves on the furnace while it is in operation.
-Not developing a procedure to prevent the furnace from releasing hazardous energy while workers performed maintenance.
-Missing exit signs.
-An improperly installed exit gate.
-Not training workers to recognize hazardous conditions with the oxygen system.
U.S. Steel has 15 days to respond to the citations and the penalties total $107,900.
You can read more about the current violations at: https://www.osha.gov/ooc/citations/UnitedStatesSteelCorporation_996555_0320_15.pdf 

U.S. Steel released this statement in response to the citations:

"U. S. Steel has received and is reviewing the citations issued by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) following its investigation of the September 21, 2014 incident at our Fairfield Works in Birmingham, Ala., which resulted in the deaths of two of our employees and the injury of another. 

We remain deeply saddened by the loss of our friends and colleagues, and continue to express our sincerest sympathies to their families.

U. S. Steel has a long-standing commitment to the safety and health of the men and women who work for our company. Safety is a primary core value and something we take very seriously. We have worked cooperatively with OSHA and the United Steelworkers throughout the investigation and will continue to work with them going forward."

OSHA has inspected U.S. Steel 14 times since 2009. Citations have been issued for unsafe crane operation, violations associated with flammable liquids, amputation hazards and other issues.

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2ND EMPLOYEE DIES FROM INJURIES IN U.S. STEEL EXPLOSION

SEPTEMBER 23, 2014

FAIRFIELD, ALABAMA (WBRC)

A second employee has died from injuries sustained in an explosion at the U.S. Steel plant in Fairfield.

Three employees were injured in an explosion in the Q-BOP area of the Fairfield Works plant on Sunday night.

Edward Lamar Bryant, a 53-year-old Verbena man, died from his injuries at UAB Hospital a little after 6 p.m. on Sunday.

Leo Bridges succumbed to his injuries at UAB Hospital at 10:40 a.m. Tuesday, September 23.

A third employee, Mac Bedwell, is being treated at UAB's Trauma and Burn Intensive Care Unit. There is no update on his condition. 

U.S. Steel issued this statement on Tuesday afternoon: 

"In the evening of Sunday, Sept. 21, there was an incident at U. S. Steel's Fairfield Works' Q-BOP in Birmingham which resulted in the injury of three employees. Following the incident the employees were transported to an area hospital where two employees have unfortunately died as the result of their injuries. An investigation into the incident is underway. Fairfield Works is operational. No further details are available at this time."

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1 KILLED, 2 INJURED IN U.S. STEEL EXPLOSION IN FAIRFIELD, ALABAMA

SEPTEMBER 23, 2014

FAIRFIELD, AL (WBRC)

One person was killed and two others injured in an explosion at U.S. Steel in Fairfield on Sunday night.

The Jefferson County coroner identified the victim as 53-year-old Edward Lamar Bryant from Verbena. He died at UAB Hospital at 6:08 p.m. on Sunday.

The two other injured employees are still being treated at UAB Hospital. They have been identified as Leo Bridges and Mac Bedwell. They're being treated at UAB's Trauma and Burn Intensive Care Unit.

Their conditions are unknown at this time, but there are several unconfirmed reports that they have severe burns on their bodies.

U.S. Steel confirmed the accident in a statement released on Monday afternoon:

"In the evening of Sunday, Sept. 21, there was an incident at U. S. Steel's Fairfield Works' Q-BOP in Birmingham which resulted in the injury of three employees.  Following the incident the employees were transported to an area hospital where one employee has unfortunately died as the result of his injuries. An investigation into the incident is underway.  Blast furnace operations continue.  No further details are available at this time."

U.S. Steel released the following statement around 8:30 p.m. on Sunday:

"Late today there was an incident at U. S. Steel's Fairfield Works in Birmingham which resulted in the injury of three employees. Following the incident the employees were transported to an area hospital. An investigation into the incident is underway. No additional details regarding the employees or the status of operations are available at this time."

Fairfield police and firefighters didn't respond to the explosion because U.S. Steel has its own emergency response unit.

U.S. Steel is headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

1 PERSON KILLED WHEN TORNADOES HIT MOBILE HOME PARK IN OKLAHOMA, ARKANSAS

MARCH 25, 2015

TULSA, OKLAHOMA (AP)

The slow start to the nation's tornado season came to a violent end Wednesday, when tornadoes raked Tulsa during its evening rush hour, killing one person and injuring others.

Tulsa County Sheriff's Capt. Billy McKelvey said one person was killed in a mobile home park near suburban Sand Springs that was nearly destroyed Wednesday amid severe weather. It wasn't yet clear whether it was a tornado or straight-line winds that hit the mobile home park, which McKelvey said could accommodate 40 to 50 trailers. McKelvey couldn't say exactly how many people were injured, but said there were multiple injuries.

"It could have been much worse," he said.

Tornadoes were seen elsewhere in Oklahoma, as well as in Arkansas, but no injuries were reported from those.

A small tornado swept across parts of Moore, an Oklahoma City Suburb where 24 people in a top-of-the-scale EF5 tornado in 2013. Other twisters formed along a line from southwest of Oklahoma City to east of Tulsa, and some touched down in the Ozark Mountains of northwestern Arkansas.

Until Tuesday, when a waterspout formed over an Arkansas lake, the U.S. hadn't had a tornado in more than a month.

Television video Wednesday evening showed roof damage in a Moore neighborhood — the Moore storm two years ago scraped lots to their foundations. A glass door at the Tulsa building that houses the National Weather Service office was smashed, and several cars in the parking lot lost their windows.

Don Ruffin said he and a neighbor were at a convenience store in far southeast Moore when he saw the tornado approaching.

"I don't know how close it was to us, but it looked like it was coming toward us, and so we didn't take any chances," Ruffin said. "We got in our vehicles, ran home and got in our shelters."

Ruffin said after the storm passed, there were some fences knocked down and "patio furniture thrown everywhere."

Electric companies reported 27,000 homes and businesses were without power in the Oklahoma City area and 28,500 had lost power in Tulsa County. The Oklahoma Highway Patrol said an overturned tractor-trailer had snarled traffic in both directions on Interstate 35, a major north-south route.

"Those troopers are working their guts out there right now," Lt. John Vincent said.

The tornado season usually ramps up for parts of the U.S. in March, but weather patterns funneled cold air into much of the country, depriving the atmosphere of the warm, moist air necessary for form bad storms for most of the month.

That all changed this week. Southerly winds pushed temperatures into the 70s and 80s across the Ozarks and Southern Plains, while weather fronts churned the air into Wednesday's storms.

The Westport Marina at Keystone Lake, Oklahoma, sustained heavy damage when the structure's roof collapsed on several boats inside, News 6 said. A donut shop off U.S. Hwy. 412 was damaged, as well, and several cars were flipped. 

News 6 viewers reported hail shattered windows in east Pawnee County homes.

The storm knocked out power to the National Weather Service in Tulsa, and they are operating on generator power.  

Softball-sized hail was reported at Chandler Park in Tulsa. Baseball- and golf ball sized-hail was also reported in several areas, according to News 9. 

Meteorologist Jeff Hood in Little Rock said a weak waterspout tornado briefly touched down in Bull Shoals Lake in Marion County in northwest Arkansas on Tuesday night. He said it will likely be classified an EF0 — the weakest tornado with wind speeds of 65 to 85 mph. A waterspout forms over water. The tornado never made it onto land, and there were no reports of damage.

"This will be the 'tornado' that breaks the drought for March," Greg Carbin, warning coordination meteorologist for the Storm Prediction Center, said before Wednesday's storms hit.

Before this week, only about two-dozen twisters had been recorded this year during a period when about 120 are typical. The last time the U.S. had no twisters in March was nearly 50 years ago, according to figures from the Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Oklahoma.

Source: Associated Press/Weather.com