Construction worker falls to death from south Florida condo tower
Fed-OSHA has been contacted following the death of a 23-year-old construction worker who fell 11 floors to her death over the holiday weekend on a West Palm Beach condominium construction project. WFLX (West Palm Beach, Fla.)
Most major pro sports teams not filing injury and illness reports
Around 80% of professional sports franchises do not report injury or illness records, Fed-OSHA records show. From 2018 through 2021, 18 of 30 major league baseball teams, nine of 32 NFL teams and seven of 32 NHL teams reported injury data. WTAE
Cable installer agrees to $10K fine for employee deaths
A North Carolina company did not alert its employees to nearby high-voltage, underground power lines before they dug to install fiber optic cable in Pella, Iowa in 2020, according to a recent lawsuit by the Iowa Attorney General’s Office. As a result, two employees were electrocuted when a jackhammer struck an electrical line at an intersection near the town square, officials charge. The lawsuit also notes five other instances of the company’s employees damaging existing natural gas pipelines and communications lines during the fiber optics installation. Iowa Capital Dispatch
New Jersey beverage bottler fined nearly $50K for alleged violations
Fed-OSHA has fined a company billing itself the world’s largest beverage bottler nearly $50,000 for violations classified as serious at Wharton, New Jersey plant. Citations include wet walking surfaces, employee exposure to continuous noise levels at more than 200% of permissible action level exposure limit, failure to certify that propane-powered forklift and electric pallet jack operators had been trained and evaluated, among others. Morristown Daily Record
Utility employee electrocuted at Massachusetts worksite
A 35-year-old employee of a power utility died at the hospital after he was electrocuted while working alone in an electrical box at a Medford, Massachusetts worksite early Thursday, officials said. Three policemen were taken to the hospital for treatment of smoke inhalation and later released. Fed-OSHA is investigating. Berkshire Eagle
Four affiliates of meatpacking giant settle with Fed-OSHA after COVID outbreaks that killed 2
The Green Bay, Wisconsin meat processing plant of JBS Foods USA, one of four cited for failing to adequately protect employees in the early months of COVID-19 at seven total facilities in six states, is one of four locations to have recently settled with Fed-OSHA and has agreed to pay more than $14,000 in penalties. Green Bay Press Gazette