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DeMoulas Market Basket, a New England grocery store chain, agreed to pay a $400,000 fine issued by the US Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), according to UnionLeader.com. OSHA cited parent company DeMoulas Supermarkets Inc., based in Massachusetts, in October 2011 for safety violations after a worker injury. An employee fell 11 feet off a storage shelf.
“While Market Basket disagreed with many of the conclusions reached by OSHA when issuing the citations in this case, the company and OSHA both agreed that resolution was in the best interests for all involved,” said James Laboe, the attorney representing Market Basket. “To this end and in keeping with Market Basket’s longstanding goal of promoting a healthy and safe work environment for all of its employees, the company agreed to make certain improvements at all of its stores. In doing so, the company’s new and improved health and safety program sets Market Basket apart from its competition and at the forefront of health and safety for the grocery business.”
We hope that this is not simply lip-service and the chain can learn from its mistakes before a more serious worker injury or death occurs. OSHA seems to be satisfied with the agreement.
“This enterprise-wide settlement is significant because DeMoulas has agreed not only to correct the hazards cited during OSHA’s inspections but also to enact effective and ongoing systematic changes that will benefit all its employees,” OSHA Assistant Secretary David Michaels said in a released statement.
Larrimer & Larrimer, LLC—Columbus workers comp attorneys.
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