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

cited St. Louis Cold Drawn for thirty one safety and health violations, including two willful

violations, seven repeated violations, and twenty two serious violations. They come in response

to an inspection of a worksite in St. Louis, MO in September of 2015. This inspection was

initiated in response to a complaint filed for unsafe working conditions. In 2013, a worker died

by electrocution at the steel plant. The citations this time are for violations relating to

amputation, electrical, fall, and other safety hazards. These violations carry proposed penalties of

$366,300.

“Any hazards at the company are inexcusable, especially following OSHA’s intervention after a

worker died by electrocution in 2013,” said Bill McDonald, OSHA’s area director in St. Louis.

“St. Louis Cold Drawn continues to exploit its non-English-proficient workforce by exposing

them to unsafe working conditions. The company needs to make fundamental workplace changes

to comply with the law and protect employees.”

As you can see, repeat offenders are issued significantly higher fines for hazards. So if your

company has been inspected by OSHA, and any violations were uncovered, don’t think that you

are now done and can simply move on from this without another word from OSHA. OSHA will

continue to monitor your company, will immediately respond to complaints, and will take

serious action against you if there are any repeat violations. So if you have questions about the

policies and procedures put in place to correct the issues, it is imperative you contact a qualified

third party occupational safety and health auditing firm to review your corrections – otherwise

you could be putting your employees at risk and your company at risk of major financial

consequences.

If you have any questions about this inspection or about your company’s occupational safety and

health policies and procedures, please contact us. If you have anything to add about this

inspection or about the importance of updated occupational safety and health policies and

procedures, please leave a comment.