Inspectors from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) must be able prove that the employer should have been aware of hidden dangers to issue citations, the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission has determined. Secretary of Labor v. Raymond – San Diego, Inc., OSHRC No. 21-0505 (Mar. 6, 2023).
This case illustrates how proactively complying with OSHA regulations and taking a critical look at the legal merits of any citation may reveal a viable defense. Any OSHA violation may prove to be more costly than the few thousand dollars saved by early settlement as it can disqualify contractors from bidding opportunities, set an employer up for a potential “repeat” violation that carry a maximum penalty of $156,259 per item, and trigger greater enforcement activity, such as inclusion in OSHA’s Severe Violator Enforcement Program.
The company was contracted to paint a rolling gate in front of a loading dock of a casino. The gate was installed by a different subcontractor. It was not fully functional, but no one at the company was aware of this. When the company’s employees went to move the gate, an employee was fatally crushed by its weight. OSHA cited the company, alleging the company failed to “conduct frequent and regular inspections of the job sites, materials, and equipment to be made by competent persons.” 29 C.FR. 1926.20(b)(2). It also cited the company for its failure to “instruct each employee in the recognition and avoidance of...
Reform UK, led by Nigel Farage, has emerged as a major force in UK politics in recent years – pushing anti-net-zero policies, alongside vehement opposition to immigration. The hard-right populist ...