OSHA Issues $167,000 in Penalties to Address Workplace Safety Deficiencies

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration began an inspection at the TVA Bull Run Fossil Plant in Clinton, Tenn., on Sept. 16, 2021, after a 29-year-old industrial insulation installer fell 5 ft through the top of a metal electrical equipment compartment and made contact with the energized electrical equipment in the compartment, resulting in the worker’s electrocution.

OSHA found Williams Specialty Services, G UB MK Constructors and the Tennessee Valley Authority exposed workers to fall and electrocution hazards by not determining if the walking and working surfaces employees were working from had the strength and structural integrity to support them safely.

The agency also found Williams Specialty failed to provide safe access to elevated platforms; and failed to initiate and maintain programs that provide frequent and regular inspections by a competent person of the job site and equipment.

“Had the employer identified and mitigated safety hazards at the work site as required, this tragedy could have been prevented,” said OSHA Area Director William Cochran in Nashville, Tenn. “Employers are legally and morally obligated to provide their workers a work environment where their safety is not in jeopardy. It’s time all employers realize that as well.”

William Specialty Services LLC: One willful, two serious violations Proposed penalty: $152,900

G UB MK Constructors: One serious violation Proposed penalty: $14,502

Tennessee Valley Authority: One serious notice of unsafe or unhealthy working conditions

Executive Order 12196 directs federal agencies to comply with the same safety and health standards as private sector employers covered under the OSH Act. The federal agency equivalent to a private sector citation is the Notice of Unsafe and Unhealthful Working Conditions, commonly called “the notice.” The notice is used to inform agency officials of violations of OSHA standards, alternate standards and 29 Code of Federal Regulations citable program elements. OSHA cannot propose monetary penalties against another federal agency for failure to comply with OSHA standards.