Occupational Safety and Health Administration News

OSHA Wants Soap Maker to Clean Up Its Act in Response to Chemical Release

A Chambersburg, Pennsylvania soap and detergent manufacturer faces $161,310 in federal penalties after an Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) investigation of a chemical gas release that sent a dozen workers to the hospital in July 2024. OSHA opened an …

OSHA Cites Contractor It Says Ignored Warnings Before Fatal Trench Collapse

A federal workplace safety investigation has found a Glenburn, Maine general contractor ignored an onsite expert’s repeated warnings and the company’s own site-specific safety plan prior to an incident in which an employee suffered fatal crushing injuries when an unbraced …

Thermometer Factory Owner Gets Probation for Exposing Workers to Mercury

The owner of a New York thermometer factory was sentenced Friday to three years of probation for failing to protect workers who were exposed to hazardous levels of mercury after a spill at his plant. Robert Peyser, 66, of Bellmore …

Officials Identify 2 Men Killed in Idaho Gas Station Explosion

Authorities have identified two people killed when a gas station exploded and started a fire in a remote Idaho town last week. The Clearwater County Sheriff’s Office said Brandon Cook, 53, of Orofino and Wesley Lineberry, 62, of Pierce were …

OSHA Cites Construction Company in Deadly Idaho Airport Hangar Collapse

Federal safety investigators cited a construction company in the deadly collapse of an Idaho airport hangar, saying it exercised a “blatant disregard” for federal safety standards. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration proposed nearly $200,000 in penalties for Big D …

OSHA Cites Boston Employer in Window Washer’s Fatal 29-Story Fall

Federal workplace safety investigators are alleging that an East Boston window cleaning company’s failure to inspect and replace damaged or defective equipment contributed to an employee’s fatal 29-story fall from a building in downtown Boston’s financial district in October 2023. …

Wisconsin Corn Mill Agrees to Pay $1.8M After Fatal Explosion

A Wisconsin milling company has agreed to pay an additional $1.8 million in penalties after a corn dust explosion that killed five workers and injured more than a dozen others at its Cambria plant in 2017, the federal Labor Department …

New Hampshire Roofing Contractor Lied to Beat OSHA Penalties, Judge Says

A New Hampshire contractor has been accused of lying and being evasive in an attempt to avoid responsibility for safety hazards for roofers at his worksite. A federal administrative law judge has determined that Barry Billcliff, doing business as Merrimack …

Subcontractors Working Too Close to High Voltage Power Lines Draws OSHA Action

The U.S. Department of Labor has entered into a settlement agreement with a New Jersey building contractor who allowed its subcontractors’ employees to work in close proximity to high-voltage power lines at a Paterson work site in 2021 and 2022. …

OSHA Orders Vermont Firm to Rehire Environmental Whistleblower, Pay Damages

In early June 2022, an employee of a Vermont agricultural equipment company observed the company pumping wastewater from the facility’s service bays onto the ground bordering the Winooski River in Berlin and was concerned about the environmental implications. According to …