OSHA News for
August 2019
September is the
annual ASSP conference at NIU Naperville. I will teach Recordkeeping on Monday
and hope to see some of you there. http://cshc.us/
is the website for this year’s conference.
August was audit month and companies are getting better on
lockout and confined space once that they have had previous review. I finished a 48-page audit report where the
authorized employees had to demonstrate the proper lockout on equipment.
Keeping track of authorized employee is hard in any company. Having software
that cannot retrieve the data makes it all the harder.
This month’s ppt
is a worker compensation for Illinois ppt. Too many safety professionals are
weak on the IL law. I worked with a law firm to develop this and hope to add
more as the year ends.
If you look at
the citations at the end, Texas has more large citations than anytime that I
can remember.
John
OSHA News.
1) OSHA wins a
debt collection case. All fines go to the Treasury.
The Secretary of
Labor filed a Petition for Civil Contempt against Altor and its President,
Vasilios Saites. The court acknowledged that the company and Mr. Saites could
defend against a contempt finding by showing that he and the company were
unable to comply with the Payment Order. Beyond merely stating that they could
not pay, the court required that they must show that they made good faith
efforts to comply with the Order.
After considering
all of the evidence, the court ultimately relied on Altor’s bank records, which
reflected that the company ended each month during a two-year period after the
violations with a positive bank balance. Thus, the court determined that Altor
could have made “at least relatively modest” payments and emphasized that the
company never attempted to negotiate a reduced sum or a payment plan.
https://cases.justia.com/federal/appellate-courts/ca3/13-2621/13-2621-2019-07-25.pdf?ts=1564084809
2) Guilty in the
death of a worker.
Owner James Coon,
of Akron, has pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter after a worker lacking
safety equipment fell to his death from the roof of a three-story apartment
complex.
https://www.insurancejournal.com/news/midwest/2019/08/05/534929.htm
3) Plant safety
coordinator tried to obstruct OSHA investigation into worker death.
An Ohio aluminum
plant safety coordinator pleaded guilty to a criminal charge of trying to
obstruct a federal investigation into workplace hazards that killed one
employee and injured another.
The U.S. District
Court for the Northern District of Ohio Aug. 7 allowed Paul Love to change his
plea from “not guilty” to “guilty.” Love admittedly tried to interfere with an
Occupational Safety and Health Administration investigation at Extrudex Aluminum
Inc.'s plant in North Jackson, Ohio.
Love and former
plant general manager Brian Carder both pleaded guilty to one count of
conspiracy to obstruct justice relating to a federal investigation into a 2012
incident in which 4,000 to 5,000 pounds of hot metal racks tipped over onto two
employees.
The two allegedly
exchanged emails before the accident describing the racks as unsafe, and one
message said the company is “going to wait until someone gets seriously injured
or possibly killed when a rack falls on them,” according to the indictment. The
DOJ alleged that after the accident, Carder and Love provided false statements
and asked employees to recant their own statements.
Both defendants
are set for sentencing in October.
The case is U.S.
v. Carder, N.D. Ohio, No. 4:18-cr-628, order8/7/19.
http://src.bna.com/KvY
4) With the
recent retirement of #OSHA Region V Administrator Ken Atha, over half of high
level OSHA positions are now vacant. Not one Senior Executive Service (SES)
position has been filled at OSHA during the entire administration. – Jordan
Barab.
5) Can an
employee request a manager to be their representative in an OSHA inspection?
Per the OSHA
Field Operations Manual
Employer
Interference.
Where entry has
been allowed but the employer interferes with or limits any
important aspect
of the inspection, the CSHO shall determine whether or not to
consider this
action as a refusal. See §1903.7(b).
Examples of
interference are employer refusals to permit:
·
the
walkaround;
·
the
examination of records essential to the inspection;
·
the
taking of essential photographs and/or videotapes;
·
the
inspection of a particular part of the premises;
·
private
employee interviews; or
·
the
attachment of sampling devices.
This is a very
rare occurrence where an employee requests a manager as his rep. This was maybe
5 times in my 29 years. The union members usually would have a union steward be
there. A nonunion member is allowed a representative, but I would take the
employee interview under deposition. I would probe to why this employee wants a
manager present. Is there criminal coercion like I saw in the Abbott
Contractors case? Is there criminal falsification of documents like the Stickle
case? Both cases resulted in criminal charges against the managers. We saw last
month two managers plead guilty to federal charges of lying to OSHA in the
Extrudex case out of Ohio. We have seen criminal charges in Kansas City for
consultants obstructing the OSHA investigation a couple of years ago.
6) Criminal
charges for trench death in Colorado.
A contractor has
been arrested on a manslaughter charge after his employee died in a trench
collapse in Granby last year, authorities announced this week.
Bryan D.
Johnson's company, ContractOne, was working a job at a construction site on
June 14, 2018, when a trench collapsed on top of the employee, Rosario
Martinez-Lopez.
https://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/local-news/colorado-boss-arrested-in-employees-2018-trench-collapse-death?fbclid=IwAR0DVYZKgu8tnUTZyO1ufdavFXq8KiJJ2Yi1V-f52Z8SwhGo7BUeU-EidlA
7) OSHA is
hosting a temporary employee safety forum in Joliet on October 24.
• Responsibility
and liability for temporary workers’ safety
• Workers
compensation and the temporary worker
• The Illinois
Temporary Labor Services Act
• Requirements
for day-to-day supervision of temporary workers
To register,
visit www.trainingupdate.org or call (815) 280-1555.
8) OSHA orders
TVA to rehire a whistleblower.
https://www.timesfreepress.com/news/business/aroundregion/story/2019/aug/26/osha-orders-tva-rehire-nuclear-worker-fired-after-raising-safety-concerns/502071/?utm_source=dlvr.it
via @timesfreepress
9) Oregon OSHA
exempts employers from programmatic inspections if they have OHSAS 18001
standards (Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems), or the ISO 45001
(Management systems for Occupational Safety) standards.
https://osha.oregon.gov/OSHARules/div1/437-001-0053-0099.pdf
10) Fuyao's
ethics are certainly questionable. In the middle of an OSHA inspection, our
inspector just disappeared. Fuyao had hired him! We had to threaten to go to
the IG to get his notes. Needless to say, we found many safety hazards. – Dr.
David Michaels.
Other Major News
Stories.
1) Safety Risks
Increasing for Road Construction Workers
Two-thirds of 392
highway construction firms said in a survey they experienced crashes into their
highway work zones in 2018, up from 46 percent in 2014. Of those reporting
crashes in the annual survey by the Association of General Contractors, 28%
said workers were injured in the incidents and 8% said workers were killed.
Work zone crashes
that resulted in any deaths—of drivers, passengers, or workers—rose to 710 in
2017, from 536 in 2013, according to federal highway..
https://news.bloombergenvironment.com/safety/safety-risks-increasing-for-road-construction-workers
2) Two CT utility
workers were electrocuted.
https://www.recordonline.com/news/20190819/two-utility-workers-die-by-electrocution-in-warwick?fbclid=IwAR3bA6ATAQR689eIfUCVBkknctpMa29z-S0PkwQDg-HnHaSvvAzgxHLu7FQv
3) New York Tree
Service Owner Arrested Over Employee Electrocution
https://news.bloomberglaw.com/safety/new-york-tree-service-owner-arrested-over-employee-electrocution
Safety Training
at Non-Profits
OSHA 511 NSC Sep
9-12
OSHA 4 hour Free
NIU Machine guarding Sep
20, Sep 26
ASSE Conference Sep
16-19
CSC 2005 Crane Sep
17-19
CSC 3015
Excavation Sep
24-26
NIU is Northern
Illinois University OSHA Education Center http://www.nsec.niu.edu
CSC is the
Construction Safety Council in Hillside. Www.Buildsafe.org
TRMA is Three
Rivers Manufacturers Association
www.trma.org
NSC is National
Safety Council http://www.nsec.niu.edu/nsec/
I usually teach
only part of the 30 hour and the 500 series. I have been teaching many 10/30
hour class for private companies. I have
taught 1679 people this year. I teach evenings, weekends, early mornings too. I
teach in Wisconsin, Illinois, Iowa, and Indiana.
All presentations
are put on slideshare.net for free downloading. I put this presentation at this
link. https://www.slideshare.net/JohnNewquist/workers-compensation-benefits-in-illinois use your feedback to make changes to make
corrections.
OSHA Citations
NY 1381007.015 Tripifoods, Inc. BUFFALO 07/23/2019 $40,918.00 Fall
protection (scaffolding), Lockout / Tagout, Annual summary
FL 1375118.015 LINDHOLM CONSTRUCTION INC SUMMERLAND
KEY 07/22/2019 $49,592.00 Safety training, Housekeeping, Personal fall arrest systems,
Fall protection training, Duty to have fall protection
OH 1392188.015 VAUGHN INDUSTRIES, INC. SULLIVAN 07/19/2019 $53,040.00 Accident
prevention program, Traffic control devices, Flaggers
OH 1401083.015 Barrett Paving Materials, Inc. CINCINNATI 07/19/2019 $44,327.00 Means
of egress (excavation), Protective systems in excavations
FL 1376363.015 The TJX Companies, Inc. JACKSONVILLE 07/18/2019 $83,347.00 Exit
routes
PA 1375949.015 Scot Christopher Rule LLC EASTON 07/18/2019 $102,512.00 Respiratory
protection, Lead, Written hazard communication, Safety Data Sheets, Hazardous
chemical training
GA 1374715.015 TRANSDEV SERVICES, INC. NORCROSS 07/17/2019 $114,615.00 Eye
wash station, Hazardous chemical labeling, Hazardous chemical training
GA 1374717.015 TRANSDEV SERVICES, INC. NORCROSS 07/17/2019 $74,099.00 Powered
industrial trucks, Portable fire extinguishers
GA 1392147.015 Thompson Trucking Acquisitions, LLC DORAVILLE 07/17/2019 $86,190.00 Fall protection, PPE
WI 1374648.015 Pukall Lumber Company, Inc. ARBOR
VITAE 07/17/2019 $348,467.00 Fall protection, Floor maintenance, Lockout / Tagout, Machine
guarding, Oxygen cylinder storage, Flash-back protection, Grounding electrical
equipment, Exit routes, Permit-required confined spaces, Hazardous chemical
labeling
MN 1381292.015 Greatbatch Ltd dba Greatbatch Medical MINNEAPOLIS 07/16/2019 $60,000.00 [no violations linked].
NY 1374748.015 U.S. Nonwovens Corp. HAUPPAUGE 07/16/2019 $287,212.00 Exit
routes, Lockout / Tagout, Powered industrial trucks, General Duty (providing
safe workplace), Secure storage of materials, Report employee hospitalization
within 24 hours, Providing records to government representatives
KS 1372015.015 John Canning Co MANHATTAN 07/15/2019 $67,437.00 Lead,
Respiratory protection
TX 1408480.015 RWN Contractors, LLC SPRINGTOWN 07/15/2019 $41,107.00 Overhead
gantry crane inspection, Slings, Machine Guarding, Written hazard communication
program, Recordkeeping forms, Portable fire extinguishers
IA 1407698.015 Larson Construction Company, Inc. CEDAR RAPIDS 07/12/2019 $66,512.00 [no violations linked]
NJ 1377304.015 Rafael Holdings, Inc. NEWARK 07/12/2019 $127,294.00 Exit
routes, Lockout / Tagout, Safety training, PPE
TX 1375209.015 Graphic Packaging International, LLC QUEEN CITY 07/12/2019 $159,118.00 PPE, Eye and face protection, Hand protection, Lockout /
Tagout
TX 1382181.015 Graphic Packaging International, LLC QUEEN CITY 07/12/2019 $52,282.00 Process safety management of highly hazardous chemicals
TX 1391948.015 LMMM San Antonio #3, LTD SAN
ANTONIO 07/12/2019 $132,600.00 Machine guarding
FL 1378700.015 Jimmie Crowder Excavating & Land Clearing, Inc. TALLAHASSEE 07/11/2019 $81,833.00 Walking-working surfaces, Ladders, Fall
protection, Lockout / Tagout, Machine guarding
FL 1412113.015 MILLER GLASS & GLAZING, INC. DAVIE 07/11/2019 $43,757.00 Aerial lifts, Guarding protruding reinforcing steel, Fall protection
IL 1385973.015 Ataraxia LLC ALBION 07/11/2019 $56,261.00 Fall protection, Eye and face
protection, Sanitation, Toilet facilities, Eye wash station, Written hazard
communication program, Hazardous chemical labeling, Safety Data Sheets,
Hazardous chemical training, Annual summary
IL 1404168.015 Chicago American Manufacturing, LLC CHICAGO 07/11/2019 $48,758.00 Lockout / Tagout, Grounding electrical equipment
NY 1406004.015 Rennoldson's Market Management, Inc. NAPLES 07/11/2019 $43,758.00 Walking-working surface maximum loads, Stairs, Exit routes,
Eye and face protection, Hand protection, Eye wash station, Lockout / Tagout,
Portable fire extinguishers, Guarding live electrical equipment, Written hazard
communication program, Safety Data Sheets, Hazardous chemical training
WI 1384208.015 Maynard Steel Casting Company MILWAUKEE 07/11/2019 $48,758.00 Powered industrial trucks: nameplates
and markings, inspection, repairs, no alterations
CA 1396619.015 K & M Press, Inc. EL
CENTRO 07/10/2019 $63,505.00 [no violations linked]
NJ 1397872.015 Pumma Construction, Inc. LAKEWOOD 07/10/2019 $49,177.00 Accident
prevention programs, Fall protection training, Head protection, Duty to have
fall protection
OH 1372698.015 Independence Excavating, Inc. CLEVELAND 07/10/2019 $79,560.00 Survey
before demolition, Continuing inspections during demolition
OH 1380980.015 Starfire Corporation TOLEDO 07/10/2019 $47,736.00 General
Duty (providing safe workplace), PPE
TX 1414219.015 WCS Construction Services FORT
WORTH 07/10/2019 $50,010.00 Scaffolds
OH 1402938.015 Cosam Contracting, Inc. NEVADA 07/09/2019 $65,846.00 Head
protection, Fall hazard training, Duty to have fall protection
TX 1383463.015 Texas Medical Industries, Inc. ROYSE
CITY 07/09/2019 $43,193.00 Hearing conservation program, Lockout/Tagout, Eye and face
protection, Machine guarding, Point of operation guards, Oxygen cylinder
storage, Written hazard communication program, Hazardous chemical labeling,
Safety Data Sheets, Hazardous chemical training, Providing records to government
representatives
IL 1395045.015 Micaela Construction, Inc. VERNON
HILLS 07/08/2019 $42,925.00 PPE, Disposal of waste materials, Ladders, Fall protection,
Fall hazard training
MO 1371030.015 R.V. Wagner, Inc. SAINT
LOUIS 07/08/2019 $212,158.00 Head protection, Protection from loose rock or soil, Exposure
to falling loads, Means of egress (excavation), Daily inspections of
excavations, Protective systems in excavations
VA 1397104.015 U-Haul NORFOLK 07/08/2019 $46,640.00 Exit
routes, Electrical safety, Wiring methods, components, and equipment
CA 1398413.015 Socal Framing Inc FONTANA 07/05/2019 $44,900.00 Accident
Prevention Program
TX 1386521.015 Champion Home Builders, Inc. ATHENS 07/05/2019 $127,317.00 Walking-working
surfaces, Fall protection (holes), Ladders, Flexible cords and cables, Hand-fed
crosscut table saws, Report employee hospitalization within 24 hours
CA 1369742.015 Reyco Ag, Inc. CANTUA
CREEK 07/03/2019 $43,200.00 Servicing
Moving Machinery/Equipment, Servicing Multi-/Single Piece Wheel Rims
FATALITY:
Employee Is Struck And Killed By Falling Almond Shaker Arm
At 11:30 a.m. on
January 5, 2019, Employee #1 and #2 were attempting to repair hydraulic lines.
When Employee #2 loosed the hydraulic line that operates the cylinder that
moves the shaker arm up and down, the arm fell on both employees. Employee #1
was crushed and killed.
OH 1372643.015 Faurecia Emissions Control Systems NA, LLC FRANKLIN 07/03/2019 $313,882.00 Respiratory protection (re-training),
Chromium VI, Hazard communication (training), Safety Data Sheets
OH 1396182.015 Taylor Lumber WorldWide, Inc MC
DERMOTT 07/03/2019 $51,050.00 Lockout/Tagout, Marking electrical components
TX 1378304.015 Renegade Construction LLC EL
PASO 07/03/2019 $42,964.00 Safety training, Means of egress (excavation), Hazardous
atmosphere testing (excavation), Protective systems in excavations
OH 1392568.015 Miller's Construction & Roofing LLC GRANVILLE 07/02/2019 $70,013.00 Ladders, Eye and face protection, Fall protection
MA 1372094.015 Minichiello Bros, Inc. EVERETT 07/01/2019 $41,106.00 Walking-working
surfaces, Portable fire extinguishers, Powered industrial trucks - operator
training, Machine guarding, Electric equipment - examination
TN 1370195.015 BAE Systems Ordinance Systems Inc. KINGSPORT 07/01/2019 $71,984.00 Process safety management of highly hazardous chemicals,
Hazardous waste operations and emergency response
TX 1369662.015 Sunland Construction, Inc. HOUSTON 07/01/2019 $53,040.00 General
Duty (providing safe workplace), Safety training, Welding - fire prevention
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