Workers’ Memorial Day is observed every year on April 28. It is a day to honor those workers who have died on the job, to acknowledge the grievous suffering experienced by families and communities, and to recommit ourselves to the fight for safe and healthful workplaces for all workers. It is also the anniversary of the day OSHA was established in 1971. According to Wikipedia, Workers Memorial Day was started by the Canadian Union of Public Employees in 1984 and has been recognized in the US since 1989.
Workers’ Memorial Day is recognized as a national day in many countries including: Argentina, Belgium, Bermuda, Brazil, Canada, Dominican Republic, Gibraltar, Luxembourg, Panama, Peru, Portugal, Spain, Thailand, Taiwan, United States, and the United Kingdom, and several other countries are considering recognizing it as a day of remembrance.
- More than two million women and men die as a result of work-related diseases
- Workers suffer approximately 270 million accidents each year, and fall victim to some 160 million incidents of non-fatal work-related illnesses
- 321,000 people die each year from occupational accidents
- One worker dies every 15 seconds worldwide
- Every 15 seconds, 151 workers have a work-related accident
- Hazardous substances kill 440,000 workers annually—asbestos claims 100,000 lives
- 6,000 workers die every day.
- More people die while at work than those fighting wars
The US Department of Labor will commemorate Workers’ Memorial Day on April 29 with a program at its Cesar Chavez Auditorium to honor workers who died on the job. The event will be held at 10:30 am at 200 Constitution Ave. NW (Third and C Streets entrance), Washington, D.C. 20210.
The program will feature speeches by acting Secretary of Labor Seth D. Harris and the assistant secretaries for occupational safety and health, and mine safety and health. They will be followed by remarks from family members of people who died on the job and a panel discussion on the importance of safety and health protections for contingent and temporary workers.
OSHA Issues Final Rule to Protect Workers Using Cranes and Derricks
Application of this rule will protect workers from hazards associated with hoisting equipment used during construction activities.
“It is important that construction workers in these sectors receive the same safety protections as other construction workers,” said Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health Dr. David Michaels. “Extending this rule to demolition and underground construction work will help save lives and prevent injuries.”
This final rule applies the same crane rules to underground construction and demolition that are already being used by other construction sectors, and streamlines OSHA’s standards by eliminating the separate cranes and derricks standard currently used for underground and demolition work. The rule, which becomes effective May 23, 2013, also corrects errors made to the underground construction and demolition standards in the 2010 rulemaking.
How to Implement OSHA’s Globally Harmonized Hazard Communication Standard (GHS)
OSHA has issued a final rule revising its Hazard Communication Standard, aligning it with the United Nations’ globally harmonized system (GHS) for the classification and labeling of hazardous chemicals. This means that virtually every product label, safety data sheet (formerly called “material safety data sheet” or MSDS), and written hazard communication plan must be revised to meet the new standard. Worker training must be updated so that workers can recognize and understand the symbols and pictograms on the new labels as well as the new hazard statements and precautions on SDSs.
Charlotte RCRA, DOT, and SARA Training
Hilton Head RCRA and DOT Training
Orlando RCRA and DOT Training
Company Must Pay Back Wages to Employee Whose Position was Terminated After Safety Complaint
OSHA has found that the Northeast Illinois Regional Commuter Railroad Corp., known as Metra, violated the Federal Railroad Safety Act when a signalman’s work hours were changed and his position was eliminated after he made a safety complaint. The company is ordered to pay more than $38,080 in overtime, along with interest, compensatory damages and attorney’s fees.
“An employer does not have the right to retaliate against employees who report safety issues,” said Nick Walters, OSHA’s regional administrator in Chicago. “When employees can’t report safety concerns on the job without fear of retaliation, worker safety and, in this case, passenger safety on Metra, becomes a serious concern.”
An OSHA investigation upheld the 22-year Metra employee’s allegation that the railroad reduced his overtime hours and eventually eliminated his position in retaliation for reporting a safety complaint on or about August 1, 2011. After the employee reported that signal routes were not tested properly due to time constraints, he began to experience a reduction in overtime hours. Following his complaint filed with the secretary of labor alleging Metra had retaliated against him in violation of the FRSA, his position was eliminated.
OSHA’s investigation found that the reporting of the safety issue was used as a pretext by the employer to reduce overtime and eliminate the employee’s position. Metra provided no explanation for the reduced overtime hours or for eliminating the position so soon after the employee made his safety complaint.
The railroad carrier has been ordered to remove disciplinary information from the employee’s personnel record and to provide whistle-blower rights information to its employees. Either party in the case can file an appeal with the department’s Office of Administrative Law Judges.
On July 16, 2012, OSHA and the US Department of Transportation’s Federal Railroad Administration signed a memorandum of agreement to facilitate coordination and cooperation for enforcing the FRSA’s whistle-blower provisions. More than 60% of the FRSA complaints filed with OSHA involve an allegation that a railroad worker has been retaliated against for reporting an on-the-job injury.
OSHA enforces the whistle-blower provisions of the FRSA and 21 other statutes protecting employees who report violations of various airline, commercial motor carrier, consumer product, environmental, financial reform, food safety, health care reform, nuclear, pipeline, worker safety, public transportation agency, maritime, and securities laws.
Employers are prohibited from retaliating against employees who raise various protected concerns or provide protected information to the employer or to the government. Employees who believe that they have been retaliated against for engaging in protected conduct may file a complaint with the secretary of labor to request an investigation by OSHA’s Whistle-blower Protection Program.
Candy Manufacturer Faces $133,000 in Fines After Ammonia Release
OSHA has cited New England Confectionery Company, Inc., also known as Necco, for 19 alleged serious violations of workplace health and safety standards at its Revere production plant. The manufacturer of Necco Wafers, Clark Bars, and other candies faces proposed penalties of $133,000 in connection with the release of 8,000 lb of ammonia from the plant’s refrigeration system on October 5, 2012.
Inspections by OSHA’s Andover Area Office identified several shortfalls in the plant’s process safety management program under which the plant must proactively analyze, address, and minimize potentially catastrophic hazards associated with the use of large amounts of ammonia in its refrigeration system. Specifically, Necco failed to develop safe operating procedures for the refrigeration system; did not adequately inspect and have adequate preventive maintenance procedures for machinery, piping and storage vessels used in the refrigeration system; and did not update procedures and inform workers of changes to the refrigeration process, its equipment and management.
“This was a serious and preventable incident that could have resulted in the loss of human life,” said Jeffrey Erskine, OSHA’s area director for Middlesex and Essex counties. “The fact that none of the plant’s workers were injured does not relieve this employer of its responsibility to establish and maintain a complete, effective and fully functioning program to anticipate, analyze, identify, and correct problems, so that an ammonia release doesn’t occur in the first place.”
OSHA found that the plant did not have or implement an emergency response plan for employees who responded to the ammonia release, workers were not trained to use fire extinguishers and an unsuitable motor was used in a hazardous area where combustible dust was present. A serious violation occurs when there is substantial probability that death or serious physical harm could result from a hazard about which the employer knew or should have known.
OSHA Cites First Choice Energy after Oil Field Worker Killed at Job Site
OSHA has cited First Choice Energy of Minot, North Dakota, with nine serious safety violations for exposing workers to unsafe conditions at an oil field drilling and fluid disposal operation in Stanley. The inspection was prompted after a worker was killed after being caught in the agitator of an oil field vacuum truck storage tank on March 14. OSHA has proposed penalties of $33,000.
“First Choice Energy failed to develop and implement the most basic of confined space and energy control safety protocols,” said Eric Brooks, OSHA’s area director in Bismarck. “Companies have a responsibility to recognize—and train their workers to recognize—hazards unique to their job sites in addition to protecting workers from such hazards.”
Five of the nine citations involve violations of OSHA’s confined space requirements, including lack of atmospheric testing, permitting, signs, and emergency response procedures.
Other citations involve not properly protecting workers from open pit fall hazards, lack of energy control and lockout/tagout procedures and equipment, failing to conduct annual inspections of energy control procedures and to train workers on such procedures.
Houston Manufacturing Plant Fined $48,300 for Failing to Protect Workers from Falls
OSHA has cited Texfab, Inc., with 11 alleged serious and two other-than-serious violations for exposing workers to falls and other workplace hazards at its manufacturing plant on Link Drive in Navasota. OSHA’s Houston North Area Office began the investigation in March after receiving a complaint. Proposed penalties total $48,300.
The serious violations include a missing latch on a crane-lifting hook and fall hazards into a pit and into dangerous machinery. The company also failed to ensure usage of proper personal protective equipment; supply at least grade D air in supply air respirators; equip air respirators with high temperature or carbon monoxide monitors; medically evaluate workers before they wear respirators; evaluate permit required confined spaces; provide a lockout/tagout program to control energy sources; periodically inspect a gantry crane; and provide machine guarding on point of operation for all machines.
The other-than-serious violations involve failing to provide a respirator protection program and fit test respirators. An other-than-serious violation is one that has a direct relationship to job safety and health, but probably would not cause death or serious physical harm.
“Employers must recognize the hazards that exist in their workplaces and then develop safety and health procedures to protect workers on the job,” said David Doucet, OSHA’s area director at the Houston North Area Office.
Texfab specializes in the manufacturing of cylinders that are later manufactured into pressure vessels for the oil and gas industry, and employs about 10 workers at the Navasota location and about 70 at its Cypress facility.
Burlington Coat Factory Fined More than $45,000 for Safety Violations
OSHA has cited Burlington Coat Factory with five serious, one repeat, and two other-than-serious violations found at a Lancaster store. OSHA’s October 2012 investigation was initiated under the agency’s local emphasis program for the department store industry and resulted in $46,600 in proposed penalties.
The serious violations, with a $22,400 penalty, include an unguarded wall opening, blocked egress, failure to evaluate confined spaces, and the presence of electrical hazards.
The repeat violation, carrying a $22,000 penalty, was due to multiple restricted means of egress. A repeat violation is issued when an employer previously has been cited for the same or a similar violation of a standard, regulation, rule or order at any other facility in federal enforcement states within the last five years. The same violation was cited in 2010.
“These hazards exposed store workers to serious risks and need to be addressed immediately,” said Kevin Kilp, director of OSHA’s Harrisburg Area Office. “OSHA will not tolerate when employers jeopardize worker safety.”
The two other-than-serious violations, with a $2,200 penalty, were cited for the company’s failure to post OSHA 300 logs and keep detailed records. An other-than-serious violation has a direct relationship to job safety and health, but probably would not cause death or serious physical harm.
Nomac Drilling Cited for Failing to Provide Fall Protection to Workers on Well Derricks
The inspection was initiated April 2 under an OSHA initiative targeting compliance within the oil and gas industries in the Bakken formation. OSHA has proposed penalties of $65,300.
“Nomac Drilling continues to expose workers to fall hazards,” said Eric Brooks, OSHA’s area director in Bismarck. “Falls are one of the leading causes of injury and death in the workplace. Employers have a responsibility to implement worker safety programs effectively and to train their employees on the proper use of fall protection equipment.”
The repeat violation cites the company for failing to protect workers on unguarded open platforms in the mud house from fall hazards of about 9 feet. The same violation was cited in 2010 in Towanda Township, Pennsylvania, and in 2011 in Cordell, Oklahoma, and Wyalusing, Pennsylvania.
Two serious violations involve failing to ensure workers were protected from fall/egress hazards by installing an effective emergency escape line from the derrick board and to provide a usable eyewash station for working with corrosive chemicals.
Nomac Drilling has been inspected by OSHA 35 times nationwide since January 2010, with 16 of those inspections resulting in citations.
Heavy Equipment Rental Company Fined After Truck Crane Crushes Worker
OSHA has cited Hawthorne Pacific, Corp., in Kahului, Maui, for 13 alleged serious violations and two other-than-serious violations of safety standards. The heavy equipment rental and repair company faces fines following an October 23, 2012, incident in which one of its cranes fatally crushed a worker.
“Hawthorne Pacific, Corp., failed in its responsibility to ensure that workers followed the manufacturer’s requirements for the safe operation and maintenance of equipment,” said Galen Lemke, director of OSHA’s Honolulu Area Office. “This tragic accident could have easily been prevented had the employer addressed these issues.”
OSHA’s Honolulu Area Office inspection found that outriggers designed to stabilize the truck-mounted crane that crushed the worker were not extended, allowing it to tip, and that the company failed to properly inspect and maintain records of critical items on the crane. The industrial boom truck crane had been out of service for more than six months and had not had a complete inspection before use. The company also failed to properly tag keys for the truck crane as “do not use” because a warning indicator wasn’t functioning.
The inspection also found that shop equipment and compressed gas cylinders were not properly secured or anchored, some equipment was not in good operating condition, electrical outlets were not properly protected and machines were not properly guarded to prevent amputation or other injuries. The company also failed to make eye or body wash facilities accessible in key areas where workers were exposed to corrosive liquids. Proposed fines total $70,000.
Berger Excavating Contractors Cited for Failing to Protect Workers in Trench
OSHA has cited Berger Excavating Contractors, Inc., in Wauconda for two safety violations, including one willful, for failing to protect workers from cave-ins during trenching operations. The inspection was initiated under OSHA’s national emphasis program for trenching and excavation after an OSHA inspector witnessed apparent cave-in hazards at a construction site in Franklin Park on March 20. Proposed penalties total $73,260.
“Companies, such as Berger Excavating Contractors, have a responsibility to follow safety regulations that protect workers from excavation hazards that are unique to their work specialty. These types of hazards result in numerous fatalities and injuries every year,” said Diane Turek, OSHA’s area director for the Chicago North Office in Des Plaines. “Employers that are repeatedly cited for violations of standards unique to their industry demonstrate a lack of commitment to worker safety and health. No job should cost a worker’s life due to an employer’s failure to properly protect and train workers.”
The willful violation involves failing to provide cave-in protection to workers installing a water main in a trench approximately 7 feet deep. A willful violation is one committed with intentional, knowing or voluntary disregard for the law’s requirements, or with plain indifference to worker safety and health. Berger Excavating Contractors has been cited previously by OSHA for failing to provide cave-in protection in August 2010 and July 2011.
Additionally, one serious violation was cited for failing to provide a means of safe access and egress during trenching and excavation work.
OSHA standards mandate that all excavations 5 feet or deeper be protected against collapse.
Washington DC Party Shuttle/Onboard DC Tours Declared Imminent Hazard to Public Safety
The US Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has ordered Washington, D.C.-based passenger carrier Washington DC Party Shuttle, which also does business as Onboard DC Tours, to immediately cease all operations, declaring that its drivers and vehicles pose an imminent hazard to public safety.
This is the first shutdown of a passenger carrier following the deployment earlier this month of more than 50 specially trained safety investigators targeting high-risk passenger carriers.
“We are making good on our pledge to get unsafe bus companies off the road,” said US Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. “We are committed to protecting the traveling public and we will not hesitate to take action.”
Washington DC Party Shuttle/Onboard DC Tours operates primarily as a tour bus service in both the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area and in New York City.
An FMCSA investigation launched earlier this month revealed that the company had failed to monitor and ensure that its drivers comply with federal drug and alcohol testing requirements. Investigators found that one driver had repeatedly been permitted or required to operate a passenger vehicle even though it was known that the individual had tested positive for a controlled substance. The investigation also found that the carrier does not have an effective maintenance program, which results in significant safety problems with its vehicles. These violations and conditions of operations substantially increase the likelihood of serious harm to drivers, passengers and the motoring public.
“Every passenger stepping onto a commercial bus or van is entitled to a safe driver and safe vehicle, regardless of whether it is a major carrier, a curb-side operation, a charter or, in this case, a party and tour service,” said FMCSA Administrator Anne S. Ferro. “Our safety regulations do not discern among passenger carriers business models—our sole focus is on safety.”
US Department of Transportation Orders Four Trucking Companies to Cease Operating
“Safety is our top priority,” said Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. “Trucking companies that attempt to dodge safety regulations or hide a history of violations by hiding behind a new name have no place on our nation’s roadways.”
Earlier this year, FMCSA investigators discovered that the four companies were functioning under common operation and control in order to avoid a negative compliance history. The agency also determined that Freight, Inc., and Midwest A, Inc., were created to avoid the out-of-service order issued against Nationwide, Inc., on July 16, 2008, for failure to pay civil penalties. During its investigation, FMCSA discovered the carriers were operating the same vehicles, using the same drivers and maintaining the same operational and management structure as Royal, Inc.
“Today’s action is another step toward raising the bar for commercial vehicle and roadway safety,” said FMCSA Administrator Anne S. Ferro. “It sends a strong and important message that companies that attempt to evade safety regulations by reincarnating will be found and removed from the road.”
OSHA’s Advisory Committee on Construction Safety and Health to Meet
OSHA will hold a meeting of the Advisory Committee on Construction Safety and Health May 23-24, 2013, in Washington, D.C.
The full committee agenda includes remarks from Dr. David Michaels, assistant secretary of labor for occupational safety and health and updates from the Directorate of Construction. In addition, the committee will consider six items from the proposed Standards Improvement Project IV and discuss occupational exposure to beryllium, two possible technical amendments and corrections to the Cranes and Derricks standards, the Federal Agency Procurement Construction, Health and Safety Checklist, and the two-hour introduction to the OSHA 10- and 30-hour training courses.
The meeting will be held from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. ET, May 23 and 24 in Room C-5521, US Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Ave., N.W., Washington, DC 20210. Some committee members will participate by teleconference. The meeting is open to the public.
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