April 1, 2015
Employer name: United States Postal Service
Investigation site: 2643 N. Clark, Chicago, IL 60614
Date investigation initiated and what prompted inspection:
On Jan. 14, the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and
Health Administration's Chicago North Area Office initiated an
inspection of the mail sorting facility after receiving a complaint
alleging unsafe working conditions
Investigation findings: OSHA found workers were
exposed to various electrical hazards and issued two repeated, four
serious and one other-than-serious violation with proposed penalties of
$63,540.
"The Postal Service has a responsibility to make sure equipment is
maintained in good working order," said Angeline Loftus, OSHA's area
director in Des Plaines. "Each year hundreds of workers are injured by
electrical hazards in the workplace. The Postal Service needs to
re-evaluate this facility and correct these hazards immediately."
Investigators found workers were exposed to electrical hazards
because electrical power taps were not used in accordance with
manufacturer's recommendations and electrical equipment such as an
industrial fan were not grounded properly, resulting in the two repeated
violations.
OSHA issues repeated violations when an employer has been previously
cited for the same or a similar violation in the past five years. The
Postal Service was cited for similar hazards in 2014 in Groton,
Connecticut and Ludington, Michigan.
The four serious violations involved the use of unapproved electrical
equipment, use of improperly spliced cords, and not providing strain
relief for all electrical cords. The Postal Service also failed to mark
permanent aisles resulting in an other-than-serious violation.
Proposed Penalties: $63,540
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 Chicago North Area Office
at 847-803-4800.