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The US Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued 19 citations following an inspection at St. Cloud Veterans Affairs Health Care System in St. Cloud, Minnesota, in July of 2011, according to OHSOnline.com. The inspection was part of OSHA’s Federal Agency Targeting Inspection Program.
“The St. Cloud Veterans Affairs Health Care System failed to properly ensure the facility was in compliance with established safety and health procedures,” says OSHA Director Mark Hysell. “All employers, including federal employers, are responsible for knowing what hazards exist in their facilities and must take appropriate precautions by following OSHA standards so workers are not exposed to such risks.”
Eight of the citations were repeat offenses—failing to provide guardrails to open-sided platforms, keep exit routes free and unobstructed, evaluate the workplace to determine if permit-required confined spaces were present, implement and train workers in lockout procedures to control hazardous energy, provide training on specific powered industrial trucks, and provide workers with the necessary personal protective equipment for exposure to electrical shock and arc flash hazards.
It is good to see OSHA keeping a federal employer in check. Are you or a loved one a federal employee who has been injured on the job?
Larrimer & Larrimer, LLC—Columbus workers comp attorneys.