ZION, IL – Federal inspectors have again cited a Zion contractor with an extensive history of endangering workers by exposing them to fall hazards. The latest violations were discovered when employees were found roofing a residential structure without required fall protections – marking the second such incident in six months and the fifth in two years.

Date of action:                       Dec. 10, 2024

Type of action:                      Sentencing

LELAND, NC – A U.S. Department of Labor investigation into the drowning of a 27-year-old heavy equipment operator at a Leland worksite found the employer could have prevented the fatal incident by following established safety regulations.      

BESSEMER, AL – A U.S. Department of Labor investigation has found a local electrical contractor could have prevented a 44-year-old foreman’s electrocution during storm recovery efforts in Coaling by taking critical safety measures to protect their workers. 

FORT WORTH, TX – A U.S. Department of Labor workplace safety investigation has found a Frisco contractor repeatedly exposed workers to serious hazards by sending them into unprotected trenches without providing a means of escape. 

AUGUSTA, ME – A federal workplace safety investigation has found a Glenburn general contractor’s decisions to ignore an onsite expert’s repeated warnings and the company’s own site-specific safety plan led to a fatal incident in June 2024. An employee suffered fatal crushing injuries when an unbraced retaining wall collapsed at a Brownville worksite.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Assistant Secretary for Occupational Safety and Health, Doug Parker, has issued the following statement in regard to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ release of its 2023 Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries on Dec. 19, 2024:

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and Amazon have entered into a corporate-wide settlement to help better protect employees from hazardous working conditions leading to serious lower back and other musculoskeletal disorders at Amazon facilities. The settlement agreement resolves the department’s multiple ergonomics cases against Amazon.com Services LLC, in the first major multi-site investigation brought by OSHA in over a decade. 

DES PLAINES, IL – The U.S. Department of Labor has cited a solar panel and battery storage company with two repeat safety violations after federal investigators found the company exposed workers to deadly fall hazards twice within three months. 

MANNS HARBOR, NC – A Maryland-based construction contractor could have prevented a 47-year-old diver from suffering fatal injuries during an underwater dive test in June 2024 at the Manns Harbor Bridge on Croatan Sound. 

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced the release of comprehensive data collected by its Occupational Safety and Health Administration on more than 890,000 workplace injuries and illnesses at more than 91,000 workplaces in calendar year 2023, including incident level details on the conditions and circumstances of injury and illness events. 

HAGATNA, GUAM – The U.S. Department of Labor has ordered Asia Pacific Airlines to pay more than $2 million in wages, damages and attorney’s fees to an employee reprimanded, suspended and later fired for raising aircraft safety concerns and refusing to fly a cargo plane that they believed had an unreliable engine.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor announced that its Occupational Safety and Health Administration has finalized a revision to the personal protective equipment standard for construction. The final rule explicitly requires the equipment to properly fit any construction worker who needs it, improving protections from hazardous conditions.

ATLANTA – A U.S. Department of Labor investigation has found a Marietta tree trimming contractor could have prevented the fatal injuries of a 38-year-old worker whose equipment came into contact with an unprotected power line less than 10 feet away from an Acworth worksite.

NEWARK, NJ – Federal workplace safety officials have again cited a Newark construction contractor for repeatedly violating U.S. Department of Labor safety requirements at three North Jersey worksites, exposing employees to falls from elevations, the construction industry’s leading cause of death and serious injuries. 

ATALLA, AL – A follow-up inspection by the U.S. Department of Labor at an Atalla meat processing and packing facility in July 2024 found the company failing to correct safety hazards identified in two inspections dating back to 2022, continuing to endanger workers.

CLEVELAND – U.S. Department of Labor inspectors found a Cleveland bakeware manufacturer failed to prevent two workers from suffering injuries that resulted in amputations, incidents that could have been avoided with proper safety measures. 

CHARLEROI, PA - The U.S. Department of Labor has filed suit against the U.S. Postal Service and two of its managers for wrongly terminating a contracted employee who raised safety concerns about loading dock equipment at the Charleroi Post Office.

JACKSONVILLE, FL – In one week, U.S. Department of Labor safety inspectors found two contractors working in Jacksonville and Daytona Beach willfully exposing employees to one of the construction industry’s deadliest hazards: trench and excavation collapses and cave-ins. 

FORT WORTH, TX – A U.S. Department of Labor investigation revealed that proper workplace safety training and correct storage of pallets taller than 16 feet could have prevented the fatal injuries suffered by a forklift operator at a tire distribution center in Elm Mott.