LABOR DEPARTMENT, WAL-MART RESOLVE OSHA CITATIONS

FROM:  U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR 
Wal-Mart signs corporate-wide settlement with US Labor Department
Agreement resolves OSHA citations at Rochester, N.Y., store following 2011 inspections

WASHINGTON —Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., has entered into a corporate-wide settlement agreement with the U.S. Department of Labor to improve safety and health conditions in all 2,857 Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club stores under federal jurisdiction.  The settlement, which resolves two enforcement cases that began in 2011, includes provisions for the Bentonville, Ark.-based retailer to enhance safety and health practices and training related to trash compactors, cleaning chemicals and hazard communications corporate-wide.

“This settlement will help to keep thousands of exposed Wal-Mart workers safe and healthy on the job,” said Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health Dr. David Michaels. “We hope this sends a strong message that the law requires employers to provide safe working conditions, and OSHA will use all the tools at our disposal to ensure that all employers follow the law.”

Under the settlement, trash compactors must remain locked while not in use, and may not be operated except under the supervision of a trained manager or other trained, designated monitor.  Wal-Mart will also improve its hazard communications training; and, for cleaning chemicals, will enhance its procedures to ensure that employees do not handle undiluted chemicals. Also, the company must ensure that a protective protocol is in place in case of any malfunctions with a store’s cleaning chemicals dispensing equipment.  Wal-Mart will ensure employees are trained on the new procedures in a language, format, and vocabulary that the workers can understand.

For the safety citations pertinent to the corporate-wide trash compactor abatement, the settlement affirms one repeat lockout/tagout citation, two serious lockout/tagout citations, two serious confined space citations, and one serious machine guarding citation.

For the health citations pertinent to the corporate-wide cleaning chemical and hazard communication abatement, the settlement affirms two serious citations related to personal protective equipment, and two serious hazard communication citations.

A summary of the agreement will be posted in each affected store.
Settlement negotiations followed issuance of citations from two separate inspections conducted at the Wal-Mart Supercenter store in Rochester, N.Y.  A safety inspection was initiated on Aug. 2, 2011, and a health inspection began Aug. 17, 2011. As part of the settlement, Wal-Mart has also agreed to abate other hazards in the Rochester store unrelated to the corporate-wide remedy, and will pay $190,000 in civil penalties.

For the citations not related to the corporate-wide abatement, citations affirmed in the settlement include one repeat electrical hazard citation, one serious citation for obstructed exit routes, two serious machine guarding citations, one repeat other-than-serious platform fall hazard citation, and 11 serious blood borne pathogens citations.

OSHA CITES TEXAS CO. FOR NOT KEEPING WORKERS FAR ENOUGH FROM ELECTRICAL EQUIPMENT

The following excerpt is from the Department of Labor website:

“SAN ANTONIO — The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited Fresh From Texas with eight serious violations for exposing workers to numerous electrical hazards at the company's facility in San Antonio, as well as two other-than-serious violations for inadequate record keeping. Proposed penalties total $40,500.

"Electrical hazards can lead to the loss of a worker's life by electrocution. OSHA will not tolerate an employer failing to take responsibility for keeping the workplace safe," said Jeff Funke, OSHA's area director in San Antonio. "Fortunately, in this case, no one was injured."

The serious violations include failing to ensure that workers were provided with adequate working space around electrical equipment and that the working space was not used for storage, properly cover electrical equipment such as condenser units, ensure high-voltage equipment was not exposed to forklift traffic, protect electrical circuits from overload to prevent a possible fire and remove damaged electrical cords from service. A serious violation occurs when there is substantial probability that death or serious physical harm could result from a hazard about which the employer knew or should have known.
The other-than-serious violations include failing to adequately describe occupational injuries and illnesses on the OSHA 300 log and properly certify the OSHA 300A summary form for injuries and illnesses. An other-than-serious violation is one that has a direct relationship to job safety and health, but probably would not cause death or serious physical harm.

The company employs about 150 workers who package and transport produce from the San Antonio site. It has 15 business days from receipt of the citations to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA's San Antonio Area Office or contest the citations and penalties before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.”