An Ohio vinyl tile manufacturer faces $1,232,705 in potential fines after inspectors from the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration were called after a worker was severely hurt after becoming entangled in a machine April 28.
Since February 2017, there have been seven injuries at the NOX US LLC plant in Fostoria as a result of what OSHA investigators allege was the company’s disregard for legal requirements relating to machine safety, according to an Oct. 27 news release.
“NOX US LLC continues to put profit before safety, and the company’s efforts when it comes to worker safety are unacceptable,” Todd Jensen, OSHA area director in Toledo, Ohio, said, according to the release. "We will use all means necessary to hold this company accountable and to protect workers' rights to a safe and healthy workplace."
An employer’s failure to ensure dangerous machines are de-energized or properly guarded shows an indifference to worker safety, OSHA Regional Administrator Bill Donovan in Chicago said, the release reported. That multiplies the risk of serious injuries.
Jensen said the Labor Department will hold the company accountable by whatever means are necessary to protect workers’ rights to a safe and healthy workplace, according to the release.
The Fostoria plant was put in OSHA’s Severe Violator Enforcement Program in 2017, the release reported.
