Dec. 16, 2014
OSHA cites Budweiser distribution center for serious
safety violations. OSHA proposes $162,500
penalty for Anheuser-Busch Sales of New Jersey
JERSEY
CITY, N.J. – A distribution warehouse for beverage manufacturer
Anheuser-Busch InBev SA, makers of Budweiser, Bud Light and Corona beer,
willfully put workers at risk of serious injury. Doing business as
Anheuser-Busch Sales of New Jersey, the company exposed permanent and temporary
workers to hazards that involved powered
industrial trucks and other dangers at its Jersey City facility, an
investigation on June 4, 2014, by the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational
Safety and Health Administration found. Penalties totaled $162,500.
Initiated as part of the agency's Site-Specific Targeting Program*
that directs enforcement resources to workplaces with the highest injury and
illness rates, the OSHA investigation found two willful and eight serious
violations.
"These employees faced the risk of serious injuries due
to Anheuser-Busch's failure to provide appropriate training, properly working
equipment, and safe exit routes, which is unacceptable," said Kris
Hoffman, director of OSHA's Parsippany Area Office. "This company is fully
aware of the safety hazards in its Jersey City facility and should immediately
take corrective action."
OSHA investigators determined that powered industrial truck
operators were not trained by Anheuser-Busch, and defective trucks were not
removed from service. These willful violations have a $121,000 penalty. A
willful violation is one committed with intentional, knowing or voluntary
disregard for the law's requirement, or with plain indifference to the law.
The Anheuser-Busch warehouse also had obstructed exit
routes, damaged storage racks and additional powered industrial truck hazards.
The company also failed to provide both chemical hazard communication and
powered industrial truck training. These violations carry a $41,500 penalty. A
serious violation occurs when there is substantial probability that death or
serious physical harm could result from a hazard about which the employer knew
or should have known.
View the citations at http://www.osha.gov/ooc/citations/Anheuser-Busch_978459_1203_14.pdf*
Anheuser-Busch has 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 agency's Parsippany Area Office at
973-263-1003.
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.