USPS Fined $77,500 For Electrical Hazards At Portland, OR Mail Facility
SEATTLE – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited the U.S. Postal Service for alleged willful and serious violations of safety standards at the Portland, Ore., Processing and Distribution Center, located at 715 N.W. Hoyt St. An OSHA inspection conducted in response to employee complaints resulted in a total of $77,500 in fines for electrical hazards and a failure to adequately lock out machines’ power sources to prevent unexpected startups.
“The Postal Service disregarded basic electrical safety practices, which left workers at this facility exposed to unnecessary risk of serious injury,” said Richard S. Terrill, OSHA regional administrator in Seattle.
OSHA’s inspection found workers were performing tests on live electrical equipment and doing so without adequate personal protective equipment, safety-related work practices and warning signs, as well as working on equipment that had not first been de-energized.
As a result of these conditions, OSHA has issued the Postal Service one willful citation with a proposed fine of $70,000. OSHA defines a willful violation as one committed with plain indifference to or intentional disregard for employee safety and health.
In addition, two serious citations with $7,500 in fines have been issued for failure to adequately lock out machines’ power sources to prevent unexpected startup during servicing and for inadequate insulation on electric cables. OSHA issues serious citations when death or serious physical harm is likely to result from hazards about which an employer knew or should have known.
The Postal Service has 15 business days from receipt of its citations and proposed penalties to comply, meet with the OSHA area director or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission. This inspection was conducted by OSHA’s Portland Area Office; telephone 503-326-2251. To report workplace accidents, fatalities or situations posing imminent danger to workers, call OSHA’s toll-free hotline at 800-321-6742.
Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, employers are responsible for providing safe and healthful workplaces for their employees. OSHA’s role is to assure these conditions for America’s working men and women by setting and enforcing standards, and providing training, education and assistance. For more information, visit http://www.osha.gov.
FMLA Leave Expanded to More Parents And Children
The Department of Labor issued the following clarification on the expanded FMLA regulations:
Neither the statute nor the regulations restrict the number of parents a child may have under the FMLA. For example, where a child’s biological parents divorce, and each parent remarries, the child will be the “son or daughter” of both the biological parents and the stepparents and all four adults would have equal rights to take FMLA leave to care for the child. An employee who will share equally in the raising of an adopted child with a same sex partner, but who does not have a legal relationship with the child, would be entitled to leave to bond with the child following placement, or to care for the child if the child had a serious health condition, because the employee stands “in loco parentis” to the child.
Wage and Hour Division Administrator’s Interpretation No. 2010-3
June 22, 2010
Issued by Deputy Administrator Nancy J. Leppink
SUBJECT: Clarification of the definition of “son or daughter” under Section 101(12) of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) as it applies to an employee standing “in loco parentis” to a child.
The Administrator has determined that additional clarification is needed on the definition of “son or daughter” as it applies to an employee taking FMLA-protected leave for the birth or placement of a child, to care for a newborn or newly placed child, or to care for a child with a serious health condition. Based on the Wage and Hour Division’s experience in administering the FMLA, it is evident that many employees and employers are unsure of how the FMLA applies when there is no legal or biological parent-child relationship. The Administrator is issuing this interpretation to provide needed guidance on this important area of law. Read more
OSHA fines US Postal Service nearly $300,000 for exposing workers to electrical hazards
PITTSBURGH, Pa. – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited the U.S. Postal Service for workplace safety violations related to electrical hazards found at the Pittsburgh mail processing facility located at 1001 California Ave. Proposed penalties total $299,500.
OSHA initiated an inspection in October 2009 in response to a complaint alleging the hazards. Inspectors cited the Postal Service with four willful violations carrying a penalty of $265,000; one repeat violation, with a penalty of $25,000; and two serious violations with a penalty of $9,500.
“The Postal Service’s blatant disregard for workplace safety standards has left workers at this facility exposed to unnecessary risk of serious injury,” said Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA Dr. David Michaels.
The willful violations include inadequate training for employees exposed to electrical hazards, failure to provide electrical protective equipment to protect employees from arc-flash hazards and electrical current, and failure to use appropriate safety signs, safety symbols or accident prevent tags to warn employees about electrical hazards. OSHA defines a willful violation as one committed with plain indifference to or intentional disregard for employee safety and health.
The repeat violation is due to the facility’s failure to use approved covers for electrical junction boxes. A repeat citation is issued when a substantially similar violation is found at any of an employer’s facilities in federal enforcement states within three years of a previous citation.
The serious violations include the use of an unapproved junction box in a wet and damp location, and a failure to provide voltage-rated tools. OSHA issues a serious citation when there is substantial probability that death or serious physical harm could result and the employer knew, or should have known, of the hazard.
The Postal Service has 15 business days from receipt of its citations to comply, meet with the OSHA area director or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission. This inspection was conducted by OSHA’s Pittsburgh Area Office; telephone 412-395-4903. To report workplace accidents, fatalities or situations posing imminent danger to workers, call OSHA’s toll-free hotline at 800-321-6742.
Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, employers are responsible for providing safe and healthful workplaces for their employees. OSHA’s role is to assure these conditions for America’s working men and women by setting and enforcing standards, and providing training, education and assistance. For more information visit http://www.osha.gov.
USPS Cited For Safety Violations At Philadelphia Mail Facility
USPS Cited for Safety Violations in Philadelphia
Citations Issued at Five Locations since April 29
The Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) issued the USPS its fifth set of safety citations on June 3, charging the Postal Service with six counts of “willful” and “serious” violations [PDF] at the Philadelphia Processing and Distribution Center (P&DC).
OSHA fined the USPS $217,000 for the latest set of citations, which were issued on the same day as five violations at the Philadelphia Bulk Mail Center. The most recent charges bring the Postal Service’s total OSHA fines to nearly $1.5 million.
OSHA said the USPS willfully exposed employees to the risk of electric shock and burn hazards when working on electrically-energized machinery at the P&DC, and failed to give employees proper protective equipment or sufficient training for operating live machinery.
The Philadelphia P&DC violations are the fifth set of citations issued to the Postal Service since April 29. Other safety citations were issued at the Philadelphia BMC; in Bedford Park, IL; in Denver, CO; and in Providence, RI.
USPS Cited for Third Set Of Safety Violations in One Week
Fines Now Total Nearly One Million Dollars
APWU News
Issuing its third set of citations in less than a week, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) charged the USPS with five counts of “willful” safety violations [PDF] in Bedford Park, IL on May 5. The latest citations bring the Postal Service’s total fines for these violations to nearly $1 million.
The Postal Service willfully exposed employees to hazards associated with live electrical parts, OSHA said. Postal workers were found working on live machinery with more than 480 volts of electricity without being provided nonconductive head protection, voltage-rated gloves, flame resistant clothing, or face shields to prevent injury from electric arcs. In addition, employees were not properly trained to work on machines.
OSHA issued the Postal Service $210,000 in fines for knowingly exposing employees to the risk of electric shock. The most recent citations follow OSHA fines of more than $500,000 dollars in Providence, RI and more than $200,000 in Denver, CO for similar electrical safety violations.
The APWU expects more safety violations to be issued by OSHA in the coming weeks. Check www.apwu.org for updated information.