Three different Illinois companies were slapped with fines by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) during the month of April for alleged violations of federal workplace standards.
On April 14, 2010, OSHA announced a $61,500 penalty against Fleetpride, Inc., a nationwide distributor of trucking parts located in Willowbrook, for alleged violations discovered during a February 2010 inspection. The inspection revealed that Fleetpride, Inc., did not have the proper protective or emergency safeguards in place in accordance with federal safety standards. Additionally, OSHA stated in a press release that it issued Fleetpride, Inc., four repeat violations for similar failure to maintain required safeguards for which it had been previously cited in the past.
On April 19, 2010, Ceva Freight, LLC, a logistics and freight management company located in Elk Grove, was fined $64,000 by OSHA for failing to ensure that their trucks were properly inspected before use and for failing to provide legible name plates on those trucks. Ceva Freight, LLC, was also issued repeat violation citations for failing to provide proper load backrest extensions and for failing to take defective trucks out of services. The repeat violations penalty amounted to $50,000 of the total fine imposed by OSHA.
On April 27, 2010, Chicago-based National Wrecking Co. was handed $60,000 in fines for what OSHA termed “willful and serious” violations of federal workplace safety regulations resulting from a November, 2009 plant inspection. OSHA issued a willful citation to the company for failing to provide fall protection to employees working 16 feet or higher above ground level. Willful violations are those “committed with intentional, knowing or voluntary disregard for the law’s requirement, or plain indifference to employee safety and health.” National Wrecking Co. was also issued a level serious citation for failing to protect workers from the hazards encountered while working in a hydraulic excavator. Violations are defined as serious if “death or serious physical harm can result from a hazard an employer knew or should have known exists.” The press release stated that OSHA has investigated National Wrecking Co. 46 times since 1975 and has issued the company numerous serious, repeat and willful violations.
Each company has 15 days from the receipt of the violations to either comply with the safety regulations or contest the citations.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is a federal agency headed by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) that works to enforce federal workplace safety regulations and improve the safety of working conditions for all United States workers.