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.
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