Firm fined after worker dies at electric car plant
- OSHA investigations have determined a construction contractor could have prevented a 34-year-old steel worker from suffering fatal injuries – after a 60-foot fall at a Hyundai electric car plant in Ellabell, Georgia – by following legally required safety procedures.
- The investigation into the April 2023 incident found that workers employed by Louisiana-based Eastern Constructors Inc. had been guiding an I-beam in place atop the plant’s paint building when the fall occurred.
- One worker, walking along the top of the building’s upper frame lost his balance and fell, resulting in the sharp edge of the structure cutting his safety line. Despite efforts of emergency personnel who arrived soon after, the worker died at the scene.
- OSHA cited Eastern Constructors Inc. for one willful and one serious violation and proposed $160,724 in penalties.
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OSHA signs whistleblower agreement
- OSHA and the National Labor Relations Board signed an agreement outlining procedures for information-sharing, referrals, training, and outreach to bolster federal anti-retaliation protections and strengthen the agencies’ partnership.
- The memorandum of understanding enables OSHA and the Board to cooperate in their enforcement of related laws and to protect workers’ rights.
- Provisions of the MOU include sharing information in complaints and investigative files relating to alleged violations of laws enforced by OSHA and violations of the National Labor Relations Act.
- It also establishes a framework for conducting coordinated investigations and inspections to facilitate enforcement action.
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Investigation opened after death at lake
- OSHA is investigating the death of a 22-year-old worker who drowned on the job in Jackson Township in Ohio.
- The agency is looking into the death of the worker from a Cincinnati-based company, Jones Lake Management, which according to its website, provides pond and lake care.
- Emergency crews were called out to a 10-acre lake in Jackson Township searching for the victim.
- The body of Tyler Webb was recovered from a private pond in North Jackson and the incident remains under investigation.
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Airport investigation closed
- OSHA has closed its investigation into a deadly incident at the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in Texas from earlier this year.
- In April, an American Airlines employee named Michal Ingraham died when a ground service vehicle hit a jet bridge.
- Both American Airlines and Menzies Aviation were subjects of OSHA’s federal investigation but OSHA officials said that no companies were cited Ingraham’s death at the close of the investigation.
- The scope of OSHA’s investigation is not clear, and at the time of the incident, the Austin Police Department said it was being ruled as an accidental death.
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