A recent decision by the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission (OSHRC) – a federal agency that reviews and rules on OSHA inspections – has found that OSHA can compel businesses with multiple facilities to abate hazards at all facilities within the business.
This decision comes from a 2014 case between OSHA and Central Transport LLC. OSHA had cited Central Transport for its “knowing and repeated disregard for basic worker safety” at Central Transport’s shipping terminal in Massachusetts. Violations included slip and fall violations, electrocution hazards, and defective forklifts. Notably, these violations were similar to violations cited to Central Transport in other states.
Central Transport has since appealed the abatement order, claiming that OSHA does not have the authority to issue an abatement order across the entire organization, adding that OSHA needs more evidence to support such a wide-ranging decision.
OSHRC Judge Carol Baumerich stated she believed there was more than enough evidence to support the decision based on its “history of numerous serious and repeat violations of this standard in numerous states”. Central Transport has been cited for similar issues at 11 Central Transport shipping terminals in nine different states since 2006.
In consequence to the violations, Central Transport must follow a series of steps to correct hazards in the facilities such as
- Eliminating the hazard within the facility
- Certifying the hazard has been eliminated
- Notifying all employees of the hazard elimination
- Obtaining confirmation from OSHA of the hazard elimination
Central Transport has almost 200 facilities that this abatement of hazards affects. Implementing and completing all required steps will inevitably put a heavy cost burden on the company, not to mention the time and effort.
Don’t let your company make the same mistakes as Central Transport. Cutting corners not only your employees at risk for injury and illness, but also puts your company in danger of extremely costly fines and headaches. Conducting regular Job Safety Analysis utilizing safety software will ensure your employees are working in a safe environment. Our newest line of products, Q-Safety, was developed to make our client’s business more efficient, profitable, and most importantly safer.
