Note: OSHA Today will take its annual summer break starting Monday, July 3, and resume daily publication Monday, July 17. Happy Fourth of July to all of our valued subscribers!

The cost-effectiveness of OSHA appeals

• Even though it can be costly to contest OSHA violations from a legal standpoint, those challenges can be less expensive than creating the basis for repeat violations, according to industry attorneys.
• Employers can dedicate their resources to ensure any violations upheld are correct.
• A potential repeat or willful violation carries a maximum penalty of $156,259 per violation and can trigger greater enforcement activity, such as inclusion in OSHA’s Severe Violator Enforcement Program.
• Other decisions can revolve around assessments about whether the employer can be found to have pursued a reasonable course of conduct under the law.
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Ohio manufacturer faces $171K in penalties after worker suffers amputation

• A mold machine operator at an Ohio foundry suffered a right thumb amputation and investigators later learned the company took no corrective action despite knowing that an employee using the same machine avoided a similar injury eight months earlier.
• OSHA found Quality Castings Company in Orrville, Ohio, failed to lockout the core mold machine’s operating parts during service and maintenance.
• The lack of protection allowed the operator’s hand to become caught by the rotating mold as they adjusted the machine’s flame. The company also failed to guard the machine and did not train workers on safety procedures as required.
• OSHA issued one willful and one serious safety violation and proposed $171,884 in penalties.
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The cause of FedEx worker’s death revealed

• A new report from Tennessee Occupational Safety and Health Administration has been released giving new details on a FedEx employee’s death at a Hub on November 30, 2022.
• The FedEx employee was driving west in a Cushman Hau ler 1200 golf cart.
• Another FedEx employee was operating a tug operator, pulling two cans and traveling towards about to make a left turn to enter another location.
• The coworker swung left into the oncoming lane and then swung right back into his traffic lane in order to make a wide left U-turn to line up with the entrance to the scale and collided with another vehicle.
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Employers Cited in Half Moon Bay Massacre

• Two Half Moon Bay mushroom farms face up to $165,000 in Cal/OSHA penalties following the agency’s investigation into a deadly active shooter incident last February.
• Chunli Zhao, 66, an employee of California Terra Garden, shot four coworkers to death and seriously wounded another, then drove to nearby Concord Farms and murdered another three employees.
• He was taken into custody after driving himself to a San Mateo County Sheriff’s substation. He has been charged with seven counts of murder, and one count of attempted murder, with gun and special circumstances enhancements. Zhao has pleaded not guilty.
• The county district attorney previously stated that Zhao became angered after being assessed $100 by his employer after damaging a forklift. That was not verified before the judge issued a gag order.
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