DOL settles with USPS over electrical safety violations

Washington – The Department of Labor, U.S. Postal Service and American Postal Workers Union have reached a settlement to resolve numerous alleged electrical safety violations.

Announced July 1, the settlement addresses violations uncovered during OSHA inspections of 42 USPS facilities in 2009 and 2010. USPS contested the citations, prompting OSHA to ask the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission to order USPS to correct violations at all its facilities.

As part of the corporatewide settlement, USPS agreed to pay $100,000 now and a “suspended payment” of $3 million that OSHA will waive if USPS complies with the terms of the agreement. Changes USPS agreed to make include revising its electrical work policies and providing electrically protective gloves and full body arc flash protection to workers performing electrical work, according to an OSHA press release.

The settlement also requires USPS to designate a trained electrical work plan coordinator at each facility, retrain all employees who perform electrical work and regularly update OSHA on the progress of corrections made.