OSHA Fines Montco Manufacturer That “Repeatedly Put Employees at Risk of Serious Injury”
Igor Sokolov (Shutterstock)
A Montgomery County manufacturer is facing an $822,000 OSHA fine after creating a hazardous safety culture that put employees at risk of injury.
You may have never heard of Lloyd Industries Inc. in Montgomeryville, Pa., but they make ventilation, duct and fire safety products for places like Yankee Stadium, the Philadelphia International Airport and the Chrysler Building in New York. OSHA claims that the company lacked proper safety guards that can prevent injuries from moving machine parts — and the results have been devastating.
From OSHA’s statement:
Lloyd Industries allows them to operate machines without protection from dangerous moving parts, and exposes them to hazardous noise levels without yearly tests to protect their hearing.
Despite numerous federal inspections, warnings, fines and promises to stop putting workers at risk, the company’s repeated failure to keep its employees safe has resulted in approximately 40 serious injuries since 2000. These injuries include serious lacerations as well as crushed, fractured, dislocated and amputated fingers.
After an inspection prompted by a gruesome injury in July 2014, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration levied $822,000 in fines against Lloyd Industries Inc. bringing the company’s total OSHA fines to more than $1 million since 2000. OSHA has also placed the company in its Severe Violator Enforcement Program.
“William Lloyd and Lloyd Industries are serial violators of OSHA safety standards, and their workers have paid the price,” said Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health Dr. David Michaels. “No employer is above the law. For 15 years, they have repeatedly put their employees at risk of serious injuries. This must stop now.”
The Philadelphia Inquirer offers some insight into how the situation could play out:
Under federal regulations, Lloyd could pay the fines, and install the safety devices and implement procedures the Labor Department says are lacking. Or he could contest the citations, and the process would ultimately go before an administrative law judge.
Until a final ruling, the Labor Department would have no legal authority to force Lloyd Industries to make the safety improvements, department officials said.
