October 14, 2021US Department of Labor investigation of crane collapse, double fatalityon Interstate 10 finds Lufkin company failed to assemble crane properlyOSHA finds three willful, two serious violations; proposes $212K in penalties

BEAUMONT, TX – A Lufkin contractor’s failure to assemble a crane boom properly caused the crane to collapse onto a passing vehicle on Interstate 10 near Beaumont, killing the two occupants in April 2021.

An investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration determined Hemphill WBE Pile Driving Co. Inc. was installing supports for an elevated section of the highway at the time of the incident. OSHA found the operator failed to determine the correct weight of the load while using the crane to retrieve a helmet box and hammer driven 3 feet into the ground. The incorrectly assembled boom buckled and landed on the vehicle.

OSHA cited the company for three willful and two serious violations, including operating a crane beyond its rated load capacity and failing to assemble the boom properly. The company faces $212,599 in proposed penalties.

“Two people died senselessly because Hemphill Pile Driving failed to follow assembly instructions and federal regulations. They endangered their employees and every person driving on this section of Interstate 10,” said OSHA Area Director Mark Briggs in Houston. “Employers are responsible for ensuring they follow safety and health rules and conduct operations in a manner that keeps workers and others safe.”

Incorporated in 1989, Hemphill WBE Pile Driving Co. Inc. specializes in pile driving. The contractor has approximately 11 employees.

The company has 15 business days from receipt of citations and penalties to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA’s area director, or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.

Learn more about OSHA requirements for cranes and derricks in construction.

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Media Contacts:

Chauntra Rideaux, 972-850-4710, rideaux.chauntra.d@dol.govJuan J. Rodríguez, 972-850-4709, rodriguez.juan@dol.gov

Release Number: 21-1826-DAL

U.S. Department of Labor news materials are accessible at http://www.dol.gov. The department’s Reasonable Accommodation Resource Center converts departmental information and documents into alternative formats, which include Braille and large print. For alternative format requests, please contact the department at (202) 693-7828 (voice) or (800) 877-8339 (federal relay).

October 14, 2021For the 6th time in 7 years, federal inspectors find Illinois contractorputting construction workers at risk of industry’s deadliest hazardEmerald Inc. cited for 8 violations at Elk Grove Village work site, faces $229K in penalties

ROSELLE, IL – For the sixth time in seven years, a federal workplace inspection has found a Roselle construction contractor putting workers at risk of serious injury or death by defying federal requirements to ensure the use of fall protection.

On April 16, 2021, U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration inspectors observed employees of Emerald Inc. without fall protection while performing framing and carpentry work at a residential townhome development under construction in Elk Grove Village.

OSHA cited the company for one willful, five repeat and two serious safety violations, and proposed $229,792 in penalties. OSHA identified similar hazards present at Emerald Inc. work sites in February 2021, May 2020, February 2018, December 2017 and October 2017, and issued citations. The company has failed to resolve the issued citations, leading OSHA to refer $172,521 in unpaid penalties to debt collection.

“Working from heights is among the most dangerous jobs in construction. Emerald Inc.’s continued failure to follow federal safety laws requiring the use of fall protection risks the lives and livelihoods of its workers,” said OSHA’s Chicago North Area Director Angeline Loftus in Des Plaines, Illinois. “OSHA standards are designed to prevent workers from suffering serious and life threatening injuries from workplace falls. Employers in the construction industry must ensure required fall prevention methods and equipment are used, and must train workers on their proper use.”

In addition to the fall protection violation, OSHA found the crew working without required eye protection and hard hats, and exposed to fall hazards due to improper ladder use and lack of stair rails. Inspectors also noted Emerald Inc. failed to train employees on fall hazards and in the safe use of powered industrial vehicles.

In 2019, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that 1,061 construction workers died on the job, 401 after a fall from elevation. In Fiscal Year 2020, fall protection was the standard most frequently cited by OSHA in construction industry inspections.

OSHA’s stop falls website offers safety information and video presentations in English and Spanish to teach workers about hazards and proper safety procedures.

The company has 15 business days from receipt of its citations and penalties to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA’s area director, or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.

Learn more about OSHA.

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Media Contacts:

Scott Allen, 312-353-4727, allen.scott@dol.gov
Rhonda Burke, 312-353-4807, burke.rhonda@dol.gov

Release Number: 21-1861-CHI

U.S. Department of Labor news materials are accessible at http://www.dol.gov. The department’s Reasonable Accommodation Resource Center converts departmental information and documents into alternative formats, which include Braille and large print. For alternative format requests, please contact the department at (202) 693-7828 (voice) or (800) 877-8339 (federal relay).

October 14, 2021US Department of Labor proposes $83K in fines to healthcarefacility for failing to protect workers from coronavirus hazardsFollow-up inspection results in respiratory protection violations, lack of hazard assessment

BLOOMINGDALE, IL – A Bloomingdale nursing facility failed to protect employees and temporary staff from possible coronavirus hazards a year after an employee died of the disease.

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration initiated a follow-up inspection at West Suburban Nursing and Rehabilitation Center LLC on July 28, 2021, under the National Emphasis Program for Coronavirus Disease 2019 and the Emergency Temporary Standard for Healthcare. The agency cited one repeat and five serious health violations and proposed $83,675 in penalties. In June 2020, an employee died after exposure to coronavirus.

OSHA determined West Suburban required employees to wear N95 filtering face piece respirators while entering the quarantine area and providing care to suspected coronavirus positive residents. However, it failed to ensure proper use of respirators and fit test all employees to ensure an effective seal, as required.

“Simply wearing a respirator is not enough. Employers must ensure respirators fit correctly and maintain a face-to-face piece seal to ensure they protect the user from the spread of infectious diseases,” said OSHA Area Director Jake Scott in Naperville. “After more than a year of fighting this pandemic, employers should know the procedures to minimize workers’ risk of exposure and take every precaution.”

OSHA also determined the facility failed to implement a hazard assessment process to evaluate for potential coronavirus exposure, track vaccination status of employees, erect barrier and control procedures to maintain 6 feet of distancing between employees at entry points and nursing stations, and control access to the quarantine zone by staff and patients.

West Suburban Nursing and Rehabilitation Center provides skilled nursing care and non-acute rehabilitation services.

Learn more about OSHA and the agency’s resources on coronavirus protection. The company has 15 business days from receipt of its citations and penalties to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA’s area director, or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.

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Media Contacts:

Scott Allen, 312-353-4727, allen.scott@dol.gov
Rhonda Burke, 312-353-4807, burke.rhonda@dol.gov
Release Number: 21-1791-CHI

U.S. Department of Labor news materials are accessible at http://www.dol.gov. The department’s Reasonable Accommodation Resource Center converts departmental information and documents into alternative formats, which include Braille and large print. For alternative format requests, please contact the department at (202) 693-7828 (voice) or (800) 877-8339 (federal relay).