MOBILE, Ala. -- The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is proposing $41,650 in penalties against Ganapatibapa Inc. for one willful and two serious safety violations found at its Ozark, Ala., Beeline Store.
The willful violation, which carries a proposed penalty of $38,500, stems from the company's failure to provide a standard guardrail or its equivalent on an open-sided platform four feet or more above the ground. The agency defines a willful violation as one committed with plain indifference to or intentional disregard for employee safety and health.
Ganapatibapa Inc. had been told about this violation in December 2007. After announcing that it would no longer utilize the platform, the company resumed its practice of requiring employees to use the platform to change gas pricing signs without modifying the structure to conform to OSHA safety regulations. Instead, the company supplied employees with a full-body safety harness but did not instruct them on its use.
"OSHA will not tolerate the practice of employers agreeing to correct safety hazards and then failing to make the required changes," said Clyde Payne, OSHA's acting area director in Mobile.
Ganapatibapa Inc. is also being cited for two serious violations with $3,150 in proposed penalties for exceeding the weight duty limit of a portable ladder and failing to provide appropriate training to employees.
The company has 15 business days from receipt of the citations to contest them and the proposed penalties before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission. The site was inspected by staff from OSHA's Mobile Area Office, 1141 Montlimar Drive, Suite 1006; telephone 251-441-6131.
The willful violation, which carries a proposed penalty of $38,500, stems from the company's failure to provide a standard guardrail or its equivalent on an open-sided platform four feet or more above the ground. The agency defines a willful violation as one committed with plain indifference to or intentional disregard for employee safety and health.
Ganapatibapa Inc. had been told about this violation in December 2007. After announcing that it would no longer utilize the platform, the company resumed its practice of requiring employees to use the platform to change gas pricing signs without modifying the structure to conform to OSHA safety regulations. Instead, the company supplied employees with a full-body safety harness but did not instruct them on its use.
"OSHA will not tolerate the practice of employers agreeing to correct safety hazards and then failing to make the required changes," said Clyde Payne, OSHA's acting area director in Mobile.
Ganapatibapa Inc. is also being cited for two serious violations with $3,150 in proposed penalties for exceeding the weight duty limit of a portable ladder and failing to provide appropriate training to employees.
The company has 15 business days from receipt of the citations to contest them and the proposed penalties before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission. The site was inspected by staff from OSHA's Mobile Area Office, 1141 Montlimar Drive, Suite 1006; telephone 251-441-6131.
Labels: OSHA Citations, OSHA Fines, workplace safety
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