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Department of Labor alleges subcontractor knowingly exposed employees to asbestos hazards during former Waukegan hospital demolition

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Department of Labor alleges subcontractor knowingly exposed employees to asbestos hazards during former Waukegan hospital demolition WAUKEGAN, IL – Alleging that K.L.F. Enterprises — a Chicago demolition subcontractor — knew it was exposing its employees and others to the serious dangers of asbestos at a Waukegan work site, the U.S. Department of Labor has cited the company for 36 safety and health violations after a federal investigation. In November 2023, investigators with the department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration opened a complaint inspection after they observed K.L.F. employees not wearing protective equipment amid piles of debris and steel I-beams during structural demolition of the eight-story former Lakes Behavioral Health hospital. OSHA determined that K.L.F. continued demolition activities — disturbing and removing asbestos used to fireproof the building’s interior — despite recognizing the debris piles outside were likely asbestos-laden. The company did
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Department of Labor finds Miami company’s safety deficiencies contributed to diver’s drowning during dredging work in canal

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Department of Labor finds Miami company’s safety deficiencies contributed to diver’s drowning during dredging work in canal MIAMI – The U.S. Department of Labor has found that a Miami excavation contractor with a history of federal workplace safety violations could have prevented the death of a 48-year-old diver – who drowned while removing debris in a canal in 8 feet of murky water – by having required rescue procedures in place. The department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration cited Downrite Engineering Corp. for 18 serious violations after its investigation into the January 2023 incident. The agency has proposed $258,935 in penalties. Since 2018, OSHA has cited Downrite Engineering for various safety violations, including in 2019 for failing to provide an injured worker with prompt medical attention and not having medical services and first aid readily available. “Our investigation found Downrite Engineering Corp. did not follow required standards to protect workers w
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Department of Labor announces hazard alert, steps up enforcement as extreme heat endangers workers across the nation

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Department of Labor announces hazard alert, steps up enforcement as extreme heat endangers workers across the nation WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced that its Occupational Safety and Health Administration has issued a heat hazard alert to remind employers of their obligation to protect workers against heat illness or injury in outdoor and indoor workplaces. The department also announced that OSHA will intensify its enforcement where workers are exposed to heat hazards, with increased inspections in high-risk industries like construction and agriculture. These actions will fully implement the agency’s National Emphasis Program on heat, announced in April 2022, to focus enforcement efforts in geographic areas and industries with the most vulnerable workers. The action comes as President Biden announced new actions today to protect workers from extreme heat and new investments to protect communities, as historically high temperatures break records and expose mill
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US Department of Labor recovers $58K in back wages for plumbers working on federal project in New Orleans area

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US Department of Labor recovers $58K in back wages for plumbers working on federal project in New Orleans area   Employer name:                   AHG Services LLC  Investigation site:                2225 Piedmont St.                                                        Kenner, LA 70062                                                Investigation findings: The investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division has recovered $57,590 in back wages for five employees after its review of contracts on a federally funded construction project determined AHG Services failed to pay the correct prevailing wage. -The employer also did not provide bona fide fringe benefits sufficient to satisfy its health and welfare obligations.  AHG’s failures violated the Contract Work Hours and Safety Standards Act and the Davis Bacon and Related Acts. Back wages recovered:         $57,590 in back wages to five workers                     Quote: “Employers on federally funded projects mus
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US Department of Labor finds Pennsylvania contractor failed to follow safety requirements after investigation of lineman’s fatal electrocution in Miami

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US Department of Labor finds Pennsylvania contractor failed to follow safety requirements after investigation of lineman’s fatal electrocution in Miami MIAMI – A U.S. Department of Labor investigation into the electrocution of a 32-year-old worker in Miami found the lineman’s employer failed to make certain its crews working near overhead power lines followed required safety measures. An inspection into the January 2023 incident by the department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration learned that a digger derrick truck used by employees of Concurrent Group LLC was parked beneath energized overhead power lines when the worker began operating the truck’s boom to unload a metal crossbeam. As they raised the boom, it contacted the 7,620-volt power line sending electricity through the truck and into the surrounding ground. The lineman jumped from the truck and suffered a fatal electrocution. OSHA issued citations for five serious violations to Concurrent Group LLC of Blue Bell, P
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US Department of Labor, North Dakota Safety Council renew alliance to educate North Dakota employers, make workplaces safer

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US Department of Labor, North Dakota Safety Council renew alliance to educate North Dakota employers, make workplaces safer Who:               U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration North Dakota Safety Council What:             Alliance renewal Background: On July 10, 2023, OSHA’s Bismarck Area Office Director Scott Overson and North Dakota Safety Council Executive Director Chuck Clairmont renewed an alliance that provides employers and workers with information, training resources and guidance on preventing workplace hazards. The alliance focuses on common hazards found in North Dakota’s trenching and excavation, construction, grain-handling, warehousing and oil and gas industries. The alliance is now in effect for 5 years. First signed in February 2020, the alliance continues to develop training and education programs using injury, illness and hazard exposure data to help protect North Dakota workers to identify areas of emphasis for alliance awarene
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Department of Labor finds Newark contractor willfully exposed workers to fall hazards in 6 inspections in three months, proposes $333K in fines

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Department of Labor finds Newark contractor willfully exposed workers to fall hazards in 6 inspections in three months, proposes $333K in fines MARLTON, NJ – A series of inspections by the U.S. Department of Labor has found a Newark-based construction contractor defying federal safety regulations by exposing employees to more than 20 violations, including potentially deadly falls, at six southern and central New Jersey work sites in early 2023. Workplace safety and health inspections by the department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration identified 21 violations by Main Line Contractor Corp. in Berlin, Cape May, Lakewood, Mount Holly and Mount Laurel. Many of the violations related to the framing and sheathing company’s failure to provide or require the use of protective equipment to prevent falls from elevations greater than 6 feet, the construction industry’s leading cause of death. In January 2023, OSHA opened its initial investigation in Mount Laurel under the agency’s
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Investigators find Cheney contractor exposed employees to potentially fatal hazards as two workers avoid tragedy in Salina trench collapse

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Investigators find Cheney contractor exposed employees to potentially fatal hazards as two workers avoid tragedy in Salina trench collapse SALINA, KS ‒ In a trench 9 feet below the surface, a worker employed by Precision Plumbing LLC was connecting a plumbing line to the municipal sewer in Salina in January when he was buried under dirt and rocks after a trench wall collapsed. The company’s foreman entered the trench and tried to dig the worker out. Soon after, he then became buried up to his knees when the trench wall collapsed further. For more than an hour, first responders worked to rescue the two workers. Both survived one of the construction industry’s most serious hazards. In an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration, inspectors determined the trench had no protection against cave-ins and the employer allowed soil piles and equipment within 2 feet of the excavation’s edge. OSHA found Precision Plumbing’s violations of these
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