OSHA’s Top 10

Penalty Box

The list of OSHA’s highest proposed monetary penalties in fiscal year 2022 comprises those stemming from a single in-cident or related incidents in which one or more employers are alleged to have failed to adhere to safe work practices. These failures put workers at risk – in some cases, fatally. The following information was gathered from press releases issued by federal OSHA between Oct. 1, 2021, and Sept. 30, 2022, as well as data provided by the agency’s communications team.

(Note: Dollar amounts may be reduced as part of a settlement agreement or litigation.)

$1,343,363

EMPLOYER: ALJ Home Improvement Inc.
LOCATION: Spring Valley, NY (OSHA Region 2)
BUSINESS TYPE: Roofing contractor
INSPECTION TRIGGER: Program related
EVENT: OSHA determined that the employer failed to provide fall protection training or ensure the use of effective fall protection safeguards after a worker’s fatal fall from the roof of a three-story residential construction project. The fatal fall marked the second by a company employee in three years.
MAJOR CITATIONS: ALJ Home Improvement was cited for three serious and nine willful violations. OSHA has investigated the company six times since 2019.

 

$1,245,773*

EMPLOYER: The Auto Store LLC/My Auto Store
LOCATION: Camden, NJ (OSHA Region 2)
BUSINESS TYPE: Auto parts seller
INSPECTION TRIGGER: Referral
EVENT:OSHA inspectors found that the employer failed to have proper safeguards to protect workers from an incidental machine startup after a vehicle lift crushed a worker’s hand. Other agency findings included the company’s willful failure to develop and implement lockout/tagout and machine guard-ing processes to prevent workers from being hit by the moving conveyor line.
MAJOR CITATIONS: The company was cited for 26 serious, six willful and one repeat violation.

 

$1,201,031

EMPLOYER: DME Construction Associates Inc.
LOCATION: Old Bethpage, NY (OSHA Region 2)
BUSINESS TYPE: Roofing contractor
INSPECTION TRIGGER: Fatality
EVENT: A worker fell 18 feet through an unprotected skylight and died. During its inspection, OSHA found that the employer exposed workers to falls of up to 22 feet from other unguarded roof openings and roof edges while neglecting to provide personal fall protection equipment. Before the inspection, OSHA had cited the employer for fall-related hazards seven times since 2011, making DME Construction Associates eligible for the agency’s Severe Violator Enforcement Program.
MAJOR CITATIONS: DME Construction Associates was cited for four serious and nine willful violations.

 

$1,191,292

EMPLOYER: JDC Demolition Co. Inc.
LOCATION: Boston, MA (OSHA Region 1)
BUSINESS TYPE: Poultry processing plant
INSPECTION TRIGGER: Fatality
EVENT: : A worker using a hydraulic excavator with a hammer attachment fell 80 feet and died when the concrete structural member the worker was jackham-mering collapsed. The floor collapse occurred on the worker’s first day of the job. Shortly beforehand, a fellow employee raised concerns about the floor’s safety to the foreman. The victim didn’t receive a safety briefing and wasn’t trained to adhere to the engineer’s demolition plan.
MAJOR CITATIONS: JDC Demolition Co. was cited for two serious, eight willful and one “other” violation related to recordkeeping forms. The willful violations were also classified as egregious.

 

$1,090,231*

EMPLOYER: Charm Builders Ltd.
LOCATION: Wheeling, WV (OSHA Region 3)
BUSINESS TYPE: Roofing contractor
INSPECTION TRIGGER: Complaint
EVENT: Roofing workers on a two-story office building complained after the company allowed workers to operate without required fall protection. Some were working at a height of up to 28 feet.
MAJOR CITATIONS: OSHA cited Charm Builders for six egregious-willful, four repeat and one serious violation for failure to ensure the use of fall protection, not providing training on fall hazards, allowing unsafe use of portable ladders and not ensuring workers used safety glasses.

 

$907,253

EMPLOYER: Phoenix Environmental Laboratories Inc.
LOCATION: Manchester, CT (OSHA Region 1)
BUSINESS TYPE: Environmental testing laboratory
INSPECTION TRIGGER: Complaint
EVENT: OSHA found that the employer failed to adequately address known, persistent worker complaints to the workplace carcinogen methylene chloride, which prompted worker dizziness, lightheadedness, headaches and unsteady walking. The agency reported that improper ventilation and recurring leaks from equipment in work areas also contributed to excessive exposure to methylene chloride.
MAJOR CITATIONS: OSHA cited Phoenix Environmental Laboratories for six willful violations, 10 serious and one other-than-serious violation.

 

$796,817

EMPLOYER: Arrow Plumbing LLC and Rick Smith
LOCATION: Grain Valley, MO (OSHA Region 7)
BUSINESS TYPE: Plumbing, heating and air-conditioning contractor
INSPECTION TRIGGER: Referral
EVENT: OSHA inspectors found Arrow Plumbing, among other violations, willfully permitted workers to enter a trench at a residential construction site without providing cave-in protection, and water had accumulated in the trench. Additionally, the organization allowed workers to walk under suspended loads and use ladders improperly, and didn’t provide workers with hard hats or training. The company’s negligence came after an Arrow Plumbing worker died in a trench collapse in 2016.
MAJOR CITATIONS: Arrow Plumbing and Rick Smith were cited for five serious, four willful and one repeat violation.

 

$709,960

EMPLOYER: The Yenkin-Majestic Paint Corp./OPC Polymers
LOCATION: Hugo, OK (OSHA Region 6)
BUSINESS TYPE: Paint resin and coating manufacturer
INSPECTION TRIGGER: Fatality
EVENT: The manway cover and gasket of a kettle reactor vessel failed, releasing a flammable vapor cloud that permeated the plant, igniting and triggering an explosion and fire. A press operator was killed and eight other workers were hospitalized. OSHA later found that the employer improperly altered the kettle reactor vessel and returned it to service despite previous failure.
MAJOR CITATIONS: OSHA cited Yenkin-Majestic for 32 serious and two willful violations, including those related to process safety management of highly hazardous chemicals. The company also was placed in OSHA’s Severe Violator Enforcement Program.

 

$685,777*

EMPLOYER: Family Dollar Stores Inc./Family Dollar Stores of Ohio LLC/Family Dollar Operations LLC/Dollar Tree Inc./Dollar Tree Management LLC/Dollar Tree Stores Inc.
LOCATION: Maple Heights, OH (OSHA Region 5)
BUSINESS TYPE: Discount retailer
INSPECTION TRIGGER: Complaint
EVENT: OSHA reported unsafe walking-working surfaces; unstable stacks of merchandise; and blocked or obstructed exit routes, fire extinguishers and elec-trical panels.
MAJOR CITATIONS: Family Dollar Stores was cited for four willful and one repeat violation.

 

$638,101*

EMPLOYER: Dollar General Corp./Dollar General Store No. 08808
LOCATION: Hogansville, GA (OSHA Region 4)
BUSINESS TYPE: Discount retailer
INSPECTION TRIGGER: Complaint
EVENT: OSHA inspectors saw materials stacked in an unsafe manner, as well as unclean receiving areas that exposed workers at Dollar General Store No. 08808 to slips, trips and struck-by hazards. The agency also found that the employer failed to keep exit routes and electrical panels unobstructed, ex-posing workers to fire and entrapment hazards.
MAJOR CITATIONS: OSHA cited Dollar General and the Hogansville store with four willful and one repeat violation.

*Note: These inspections haven’t been indicated as closed. The information listed may change. (For example, violations may be added or deleted).

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