PHILADELPHIA ‒ The U.S. Department of Labor announced today that it has renewed a Regional Emphasis Program to focus inspections in three mid-Atlantic states and the District of Columbia on industries with high levels of workplace noise, which can contribute to worker hearing loss.

Participants:  

U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration

MEJA Construction Inc.

Georgia Institute of Technology On-Site Safety and Health Consultation Program

What:  Strategic safety partnership

SUAMICO, WI – After an Overhead Solutions LLC manager attended an on-site training discussion on fall hazards on May 25, 2023, federal workplace safety inspectors observed the company’s employees working about 30 feet above ground on a Menasha apartment complex roof without adequate fall protection. 

HIGH SPRINGS, FL – A global manufacturer of industrial gas could have prevented a May 2023 explosion in High Springs that severely injured several employees by following required operating procedures in the manufacturing process, a U.S. Department of Labor investigation has found.

ANDOVER, MA – A Newburyport pharmaceutical and chemical manufacturer and its parent company could have prevented an employee’s fatal injuries from an explosion on May 4, 2023, but lacked the required safeguards in a chemical manufacturing process, a U.S. Department of Labor investigation found. 

EL PASO, TX – A U.S. Department of Labor workplace safety inspection at a prominent El Paso manufacturing company found the employer willfully exposed workers to the risks of amputation and permanent hearing loss and violated dozens of federal safety and health regulations.

PRAIRIE DU CHIEN, WI – One of the world’s best known manufacturing companies could have prevented an employee at a southwestern Wisconsin manufacturing plant from suffering fatal injuries after becoming caught in a machine’s rotating rollers in May 2023 by following federal workplace safety regulations. 

Employers:    KBT Contracting Corp. 

                        5105 Blanding Blvd., Jacksonville, FL 32210

                        Aquino Construction Inc. 

                        11465 Branan Field Road, Jacksonville, FL 32222

                        Darmick LLC

                        1804 Bartram Circle East, Jacksonville, FL 32207

WESTBURY, NY – A federal workplace safety investigation has found a Huntington contractor could have prevented a roofer’s fatal fall at a Glen Cove worksite on April 14, 2023, by following legally required safeguards designed to prevent falls.

Read this news release En Español. 

ELLABELL, GA – Federal workplace safety investigators have determined a construction contractor could have prevented a 34-year-old steel worker from suffering fatal injuries – after a 60-foot fall at a Hyundai electric car plant in Ellabell – by following legally required safety procedures.

ATLANTA – As part of an effort to address wage-related violations by the Southeast’s care industries’ employers, the U.S. Department of Labor will hold a webinar on workers’ rights and protections for home care, residential care and nursing care industry employers, workers and other stakeholders in the Southeast.

BARTLETT, IL – For the third time in five years, federal investigators have found a nationwide provider of ready-made pasta, sauces and meals failed to follow workplace safety requirements to prevent workers from coming into contact with moving machine parts.

Read this news release in English. 

ELLABELL, GA – Investigadores federales de seguridad laboral han determinado que un contratista de construcción podría haber prevenido que un trabajador de 34 años sufriera lesiones mortales luego de una caída a 60 pies en una planta Hyundai de automóviles eléctricos en Ellabell si hubiera seguido los procedimientos de seguridad legalmente requeridos.

MARINETTE, WI – Federal investigations into how two employees in the mill room at a Wisconsin foundry suffered amputation injuries within 11 days of one another in April and May 2023 found the Marinette company again violated federal regulations for control of hazardous energy during servicing and maintenance.

Employer:       

Brayden Roofing Specialists LLC

4728 Brierwood Road

Jacksonville, FL 32257

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor and the National Labor Relations Board today announced that the department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the board have signed an agreement to strengthen the agencies’ partnership and outline procedures for information-sharing, referrals, training and outreach that explain federal anti-retaliation protections.

KISSIMMEE, FL – Federal workplace safety investigators have determined that the operator of a Kissimmee grocery store could have prevented a 65-year-old clerk’s fatal fall from a defective ladder by following required safety procedures.

Read this news release in English.

BEAUMONT, TX – Two employees of a national tank cleaning company suffered injuries when exposed to hydrogen sulfide – a flammable, highly toxic colorless gas – that was present during the cleaning process ­­of a tanker truck on April 25, 2023, in Beaumont. Two municipal firefighters responding to the scene also suffered injuries from the gas. 

NEW YORK – The U.S. Department of Labor has obtained a consent injunction ordering a Rockland County roofing contractor and its principal to provide employees with fall protection equipment and make sure it’s used at all company worksites, as required by federal law. The order finds that, by allowing employees to do roofing work without fall protection, the company is exposing them to imminent danger of death or serious harm.