Railroad Worker’s Retaliation Claims After Filing OSHA Complaint To Proceed
Posted on Sep 11, 2014 in Investigations, Litigation, OSHA, Transportation, Workplace Safety | Comments Off on Railroad Worker’s Retaliation Claims After Filing OSHA Complaint To Proceed
While working as a “train dispatcher,” the plaintiff was involved in an incident that almost resulted in the collision of two passenger trains. Several months later, the plaintiff filed a complaint with OSHA, the federal agency tasked with enforcing the whistleblower protections of the Federal Railroad Safety Act. His OSHA complaint alleged that the railroad instructed...
Defense Verdict For Contractor At Arkansas Chicken Plant Affirmed By Eighth Circuit
Posted on Sep 8, 2014 in Construction, Investigations, OSHA | Comments Off on Defense Verdict For Contractor At Arkansas Chicken Plant Affirmed By Eighth Circuit
While renovating an Arkansas chicken plant, the worker for a mechanical and plumbing contractor accidentally dropped a pipe saddle on the employee of a different contractor while performing overhead work on the plant’s thermal piping used to carry hot cooking oil to cooking equipment. Because the location of an oven prevented a scissor lift from being situated directly beneath the...
OSHA Violations Against Rail Car Cleaning Contractor At Chemical Plant Upheld By Fifth Circuit
Posted on Aug 27, 2014 in OSHA, Transportation | Comments Off on OSHA Violations Against Rail Car Cleaning Contractor At Chemical Plant Upheld By Fifth Circuit
Following the death of a worker at a Texas chemical plant, OSHA investigated and issued multiple citations to the worker’s employer, a subcontractor at the plant that performed a variety of services including maintenance, capital and warehouse work, and rail car cleaning. The incident in question involved the rail car cleaning process. The worker died from asphyxiation when he...
Six-Year Hiatus Enough Of A Break To Require Separate Evaluation Of Duties For Jones Act Seaman Status
Posted on Aug 26, 2014 in Energy/Environmental, OSHA, Workplace Safety | Comments Off on Six-Year Hiatus Enough Of A Break To Require Separate Evaluation Of Duties For Jones Act Seaman Status
The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana held yesterday that a pipeline coating technician who was injured aboard a vessel involved in laying pipeline underneath the bottom of Lake Pontchartrain was a “seaman” for Jones Act purposes. The court rejected the employer’s argument that the worker was not a seaman for failing to meet the Jones Act’s temporal...
D.C. Circuit Upholds OSHA Citations For Lockout/Tagout Procedure Violations
Posted on Aug 23, 2014 in OSHA | Comments Off on D.C. Circuit Upholds OSHA Citations For Lockout/Tagout Procedure Violations
After a service mechanic working for an elevator company injured his hand while unjamming a gate of a freight elevator at a customer’s facility, OSHA issued citations to the elevator company including for violating the safety standards relating to the control of hazardous energy. Following administrative challenges, the elevator company appealed to the D.C. Circuit, which denied the...
OSHA Issues Investigation Report From Collapse Of Nebraska Feed Manufacturer’s Facility
Posted on Jul 30, 2014 in Construction, OSHA | Comments Off on OSHA Issues Investigation Report From Collapse Of Nebraska Feed Manufacturer’s Facility
OSHA issued its findings from an investigation into a large storage building collapse owned by a Nebraska livestock microfeed manufacturer that caused two worker fatalities and nine other injuries in January. OSHA cited the facility owner with one willful, one repeat, and eleven additional safety violations for failing to protect workers from hazards associated with the structural...
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