Shipping company involved in bridge collapse formerly cited by OSHA

• Maersk Line Limited, the company that time chartered the cargo ship that crashed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, was sanctioned by OSHA in July 2023 for retaliating against a whistleblower who raised safety concerns.
•  OSHA found that Maersk illegally fired a seaman who reported a variety of safety concerns to the U.S. Coast Guard in December 2020.
• OSHA determined that Maersk violated the Seaman’s Protection Act and ordered the company to reinstate the seaman and pay $457,759 in back wages, interest, compensatory damages and $250,000 in punitive damages.
• The federal government has given Maryland officials the $60 million requested to cover the first steps of responding to the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge, where six workers died during the collapse.
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Sky Ridge Construction facing $103,438 in fines

• Oregon OSHA fined a Bend construction company $103,438 for repeatedly violating a requirement to provide protective systems to safeguard workers from fall hazards that could seriously injure or kill them.
• The division cited Sky Ridge Construction LLC following an inspection that focused on a job site where work was being done on new houses. The inspection was conducted under Oregon OSHA’s prevention-based emphasis program addressing fall hazards in all industries.
• Oregon OSHA said an inspection found multiple employees working on a roof without fall protection. They were exposed to a potential fall of 18 feet to the ground.
• Sky Ridge Construction had violated a rule requiring employers to ensure that fall protection systems are provided, installed, and implemented where employees are exposed to the hazard of falling six feet or more to a lower level, according to the inspection.
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OSHA uncovers whistleblower case

• OSHA ordered a former senior vice president and two managers employed by Dallas-based PrimeLending to pay $35,000 in emotional damages and the legal fees of two employees whom the company fired illegally after they reported a branch manager pressured them to pass on fees to loan applicants caused by the company’s internal processing delays.
• The agency found the nationwide lender violated whistleblower provisions in the Consumer Financial Protection Act by terminating the employees who raised their concerns with a regional manager and senior vice president of Human Resources.
• In addition to payment of personal damages, OSHA ordered PrimeLending to pay an undisclosed amount in lost back wages and interest to the employees. T
• he company must also expunge the employment records of both employees, post an anti-retaliation notice at all its branches and train its employees about their rights under the Consumer Financial Protection Act.
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Phoenix moves to protect workers from heat

• Contractors working for Phoenix, Arizona, or on city-owned property will have to put outdoor worker heat protection programs in place or face cancellation of agreements under a new local law.
• The heat stress prevention mandate is expected to take effect in late April, according to the law approved unanimously Tuesday by the Phoenix City Council.
• In 2023, the city had 55 days where the temperature reached at least 110 degrees, according to the National Weather Service.
• Record-breaking temperatures last summer put pressure on the U.S. Labor Dept. and state and local governments to provide more heat-related workers.
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