The United States Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has

cited Hagerty Brothers Co. for 30 safety and health violations. These violations are a

combination of 26 serious and 4 willful safety and health violations. They come in response to an

inspection of their Peoria, Illinois facility in June of last year. The violations were for a wide

range of issues, including hazards for not implementing engineering controls, failing to maintain

areas free of lead dust and accumulation, and not monitoring worker exposure. These violations

carry proposed penalties of $171,600.

“Lead exposure can cause long-term damage to the central nervous, urinary, blood and

reproductive systems and is a leading cause of workplace illness,” said Thomas Bielema,

OSHA’s area director in Peoria. “Hagerty Brothers failed to protect employees from known

dangers and needs to implement basic safety precautions, such as workers wearing protective

clothing and using proper ventilation, hygiene and training.”

The willful violations were for failure to determine if employees were exposed to lead above

permissible limits; a lack of hygiene and housekeeping practices to prevent lead contamination;

and failure to monitor employee exposure through biological sampling.

This is a case of a company having multiple violations across multiple areas of occupational

safety and health. As you can see, those violations, even if not major, can add up to significant

fines. This is why it is important to always review all occupational safety and health policies and

procedures. You don’t want to see a series of violations begin adding up.

If you have any questions about this case or about protecting your company from occupational

safety and health violations, please contact us. If you have anything to add about the importance

of a complete occupational safety and health plan, please leave a comment.