Somber thoughts about today's OSHA Walmart Settlement. They deleted some Serious Confined Space and Lockout citations. They made exit issue and storage issue to Other than Serous from Serious. Despite these killing hundreds over the years. They dropped the penalty from $239,000 to $190,000. There is extensive settlement language on the trash compactor lockout issue. Despite receiving dozens of violations including repeated violation, Walmart is not on the latest OSHA SVEP list of 7.1.2013. That doesn't make sense. There is something wrong when the largest retailer and one of the largest global companies keeps on getting cited over and over. I look at the OSHA data and I see 111 Walmart inspections with OSHA violations in the last five years. There are dozens of violations numbering over 100! Who has more OSHA affirmed citations than Walmart in the last five years? 111 sites with violations is not acceptable. Yet no SVEP? Yet repeat violations cited? Numerous complaint inspections? What is going on Walmart Corporate Safety? When is the largest retailer going to change?
From the PR today: “This settlement will help to keep thousands of exposed Wal-Mart workers safe and healthy on the job,” said Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health Dr. David Michaels. “We hope this sends a strong message that the law requires employers to provide safe working conditions, and OSHA will use all the tools at our disposal to ensure that all employers follow the law.”
Yet the statistic belie the problem. The cases get cited, settled, and over and over. OSHA needs to start thinking willful and deposition in these cases. This worked in the refineries, combustible dust and the grain sector. Walmart must be better, safer and provide a safe place of employment.
The SOL must decide to help. Too often they settle 99% of the contested cases because they say they are overwhelmed with the DOL backload of court cases. Remember the MSHA 10,000 cases in legal limbo? The Solicitor of Labor must get her staff to spend the resources to take some of the cases vs. settle over and over.
I got quoted in the recent Walmart OSHA settlement. The audit results should be public information when Walmart sends the reports to DEP.
The settlement with Wal-Mart stands out from past corporate-wide deals in that it mandates that independent auditors inspect the stores, retired OSHA assistant regional administrator John Newquist told BNA. The agreement calls for audits at 80 percent of stores under federal jurisdiction every four months for the length of the two-year agreement. Newquist was not involved in the settlement.
http://www.bna.com/walmart-agrees-upgrade-n17179875748/
OSHA CSA link https://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owasrch.search_form?p_doc_type=CWSA&p_toc_level=0
"As workers we routinely face inadequate fire safety measures, including blocked fire exits, and do not receive proper training on how to safely handle hazardous chemicals. Poorly maintained equipment, including balers and compactors, represent another hazard, made worse because these machines often lack appropriate mechanisms to ensure worker safety."
http://www.ufcw.org/2013/08/07/our-walmart-statement-on-osha-settlement-with-walmart/#sthash.QOGfibJy.dpuf
"In the wake of that senseless stampede that took a worker’s life, OSHA each year has reminded retailers to provide crowd control measures during major sales events. Wal-Mart’s corporate-wide settlement with the Labor Department does not mention Black Friday protection, but it should."
http://www.coshnetwork.org/wal-marts-worker-problems-do-not-end-labor-department-settlement
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