HARTFORD, Conn. — Emergency exits blocked by piles of store inventory appears to be a recurring hazard at Forever 21. The fashion retailer's employees at Westfarms Mall in Farmington were among the chain's workers put at risk of not being able to exit the store swiftly because of fire or another emergency, U.S. Department of Labor inspectors determined after receiving a complaint.

PEORIA, Ill. — Workers stamping metal automotive parts at a Peoria manufacturer were at risk of lacerations and amputations and in danger of being struck-by robotic welding equipment because their employer ignored machine safety rules.

Acting on a complaint, U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration inspectors identified two willful and eight serious safety and health violations at USA Technologies Inc. in November 2014. The company faces $114,100 in proposed penalties.

BELLEFONTAINE, Ohio — A rubber-hose manufacturer in Ohio continues to put workers at risk of amputations and serious injuries by ignoring safety rules for industrial machines, U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration inspectors found after an October 2104 inspection.

NEW ALBANY, Ohio — When a 23-year-old diver descended to the bottom of a New Albany pond in November 2014, he thought his air supply would last during underwater work. He drowned when his air supply depleted while SCUBA diving.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Inspectors from the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration were headed back to their Providence office on Jan. 22, 2015, after completing one site inspection when they saw a dangerous situation in clear view at another site in North Smithfield.

Employer Name and Location: Americold Logistics LLC is located at 60 Steamboat Boulevard in Manchester, Pennsylvania. The company provides temperature-controlled warehousing and logistical support to the food industry, and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia.

Date Investigation Initiated: The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration initiated an inspection on Nov. 6, 2014, in response to three complaints alleging workplace safety hazards.

NASHPORT, Ohio — It takes only 60 seconds for a worker to be submerged in flowing grain; more than half of those engulfed in grain die. Workers at Hanby Farms in Nashport were exposed to being buried in grain or overcome by noxious fumes because the company did not verify that conditions were safe before allowing employees to enter bins at the grain elevator and feed mill.

GRANTSBURG, Wis. — For most of his adult life, a 52-year-old man avoided the dangers of working at a Grantsburg feed mill. In November 2014, he was trying to unclog a sump when he was engulfed by corn and died in a grain bin.

MONTGOMERYVILLE, Pa. — Lloyd Industries Inc. manufacturers the ventilation, duct and fire safety products used at places like New York's Chrysler Building, Philadelphia International Airport, and the stadiums the New York Yankees and Baltimore Ravens call home.

Lloyd Industries Inc., named severe safety violator, defies federal safety inspectors

MONTGOMERYVILLE, Pa. – Lloyd Industries Inc. manufacturers the ventilation, duct and fire safety products used at places like New York's Chrysler Building, Philadelphia International Airport, and the stadiums the New York Yankees and Baltimore Ravens call home.

Employer name: James Marlowe, doing business as DHC Contracting, Statesboro, Georgia

Inspection site: At the time of the inspection, workers were installing a replacement manhole at the South Effingham Waste Water Effluent Pump Station on Hodgeville Road, Guyton, Georgia 31312

LILBURN, Ga. — Employers who ignore safety in search of profit put their workers at risk. This idea was apparent to safety and health inspectors as they drove by a Bojangles' restaurant under construction in Lilburn in October 2014.

Employer name: Pacemaker Steel & Piping Co. Inc., provider of steel, aluminum and other metals and pipe to the construction trade.

Inspection site: 501 Main St. Utica, New York 13501

Employer name: Sabel Steel Service Inc.

Inspection site: 2811 Day Street, Montgomery, Alabama 36103

Date inspection initiated: The Occupational Safety and Health Administration initiated the inspection on Nov. 4, 2014, as part of the agency's Regional Emphasis Program on Lead.

BUFFALO, New York — An electric technician at the Republic Steel Corp. steel manufacturing plant in Blasdell was removing wiring from a fan motor in an overhead crane on October 16, 2014, when an ungrounded electrical conductor touched a grounded surface causing an arc flash. The electric technician sustained third degree burns on her hand and first degree burns on her face.

Employer name: Suburban Plastics Co.

Inspection site: 1000 Enterprise Drive, Grenada, Mississippi 38901

Date of inspection: The Occupational Safety and Health Administration initiated a follow-up inspection on Jan. 6, 2015.

OSHA partners with thousands of businesses to save lives by preventing falls in construction

WASHINGTON Today is a day like any other. The sun rose. People went to work to build our homes, our businesses and our bridges. By day's end, not all of them will go home. Each year, hundreds of workers die and thousands more suffer serious injuries because they fell and lacked the right safety equipment or knowledge to prevent it. For constructions workers, falls are the leading cause of death.

KNOB NOSTER, Mo. — A 30-year-old roofer's life was cut tragically short in November 2014 after he suffered severe head trauma in a fall. A father of two young boys, the man was found unresponsive below a 32-foot extension ladder he was using to renovate a roof at a two-story building at Missouri's Whiteman Air Force Base.

Construction protections now match those in manufacturing and general industry

WASHINGTON – The Occupational Safety and Health Administration today issued a final rule to increase protections for construction workers in confined spaces.

Employer name: Vista Window Company LLC.

Investigation site: 1701 Henn Parkway, Warren, Ohio

Date investigation initiated and what prompted inspection: On Oct. 22, 2014, the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration's Cleveland office initiated an inspection at Vista Window Company LLC after receiving a complaint alleging unsafe working conditions. This was the first OSHA inspection at the Warren-based company which manufactures vinyl windows.