The US Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited Schwan’s Gloal Supply Chain, Inc. for 32 serious health and safety violations due to issues found at their Atlanta facility. During OSHA’s September investigation, inspectors also found 18 safety and health violations relating to temporary employees of Adecco USA, Inc. and maintenance workers of Cimco Refrigeration, Inc. Most of these violations related to employees handling and working with ammonia, and focused around inadequate training and personal protective equipment. The fines for these citations total $264,360.

“All workers, whether full-time or temporary, deserve the same commitment and access to a safe workplace. Schwan’s, Cimco Refrigeration and Adecco are not providing that for their employees,” said Bill Fulcher, director of OSHA’s Atlanta-East Area Office. “OSHA standards are there to protect workers from predictable and preventable injuries and deaths. These standards were disregarded at the expense of worker safety.”

As you can see in this example, OSHA held multiple companies liable for the same offenses. This is important to keep in mind if your company ever hires on temporary employees or if your employees ever work off site; in either situation, you could be liable for any OSHA violations. If you do have a situation like this, even if you simply hire on contract or seasonal employees, it is important to have a qualified third party safety and health organization review your safety standards to ensure your employees, and any temporary employees, are safe at your facility or another facility.

If you have any questions about how to ensure the safety of your employees or temporary employees who work at your facility, please contact us. And if you have anything to add about this OSHA investigation, please leave a comment.