Texas Construction Fatality OSHA Citation

In an August 17, 2009 Press Release at http://www.osha.gov , the U. S. Department of Labor (”DOL”) announced that its Occupational Safety and Health Administration (”OSHA”) cited a Tyler, Texas based construction contractor with two alleged willful and 10 alleged serious violations following the electrocution of a Hispanic worker at the company’s worksite in Tyler.  According to the DOL OSHA Press Release, OSHA’s Dallas Area Office began its inspection on February 18th in Tyler where eight employees were upgrading underground energized power lines and pad-mounted transformers.  As stated in the Press Release, the employer damaged the underground power line while digging in front of a pad-mounted transformer.  OSHA contends that an Hispanic worker was unaware and uninformed that the power line was energized and was electrocuted.  In addition, OSHA claims its investigation revealed that the worker was wearing a glove with a hole in the index finger which had not been tested for insulation qualities.  An OSHA Director in Dallas was quoted in the Press Release as saying that “All workers, regardless of whether they speak English, deserve a safe workplace [and] had this company implemented the requirements in their own safety and health program this tragedy could have been avoided.”  In this regard, OSHA defines a willful violation as one committed with intentional disregard of, or plain indifference to, the requirements of the Occupational Safety and Health Act, and OSHA defines a serious violation as one in which there is substantial probability that death or serious physical harm could result from a hazard about which the employer knew or should have known.  Proposed penalties for the citation total $133,000.00.  Employers and employees with questions about workplace safety and health were referred in the Press Release to OSHA’s Dallas Area Office at 214-320-2400 and a toll free number at 1-800-321-6742.