In the week of January 11, 2016, OSHA issued four fines over $100,000. Dollar General Corporation, which has in the past received 240 citations across 21 states’ worth of its stores, was cited for failing to keep aisles clean and not displaying portable fire extinguishers in an accessible way at its location in Fort Worth, Texas. As these were both repeat violations, penalties added up to $162,800.
“Dollar General stores nationwide have repeatedly been cited for exposing their workers to hazards posed by overstocking issues, while promising time and again to take corrective action, yet workers continue to be exposed to unnecessary hazards,” said acting area OSHA director Josh Bernstein. “It is the employer’s responsibility to find and fix these hazards, and OSHA will continue to hold this employer accountable.”
High & Dry Roofing, a contracting company in Litchfield, New Hampshire, repeatedly exposed its employees to unsafe conditions by failing to provide proper fall protection safeguards. According to local OSHA inspectors, workers were at heights above 20 feet without verifiably safe ladders to protect them on two different inspection occasions. Because of this OSHA charged High & Dry Roofing with two separate willful and repeat violations. The fines add to $152,460.
Susquehanna Supply Company, a bridge repair and construction company, was fined for willful violations and enrolled in OSHA’s Severe Violator Enforcement Program after an employee died from a trench collapse. Because the company did not have employees protected from dangerous conditions by “removing them when the competent person discovers hazardous situations or conditions,” among other things, OSHA fined Susquehanna Supply Company $140,000.
Latite Roofing and Sheet Metal, a roofing company in south Florida, was fined for failing to provide adequate fall protection standards.
As of last August, the company had already been cited 9 times in the past five years, each time failing to remedy its pressing hazards. In this most recent case, employees were working at a height of about 27 feet without any proper fall protections, so OSHA fined the company $115,500 for repeat violations.
