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U.S. Department of Labor's OSHA proposes $128,000 in Penalties Against Clearwater, Fla., Manufacturer of Customized Vehicles

TAMPA, Fla. - The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has proposed penalties totaling $128,000, including $70,000 for one willful safety violation, against Oshkosh Specialty Vehicles, doing business as Frontline Communications, for 13 safety and health violations at its Clearwater, Fla., plant.

"This employer is large and important, with ample access to safety information, but management is not employing this knowledge in its own workplace," said Les Grove, OSHA's area director in Tampa.

OSHA issued one willful violation against the company for not installing guards on its press brakes despite repeated injuries to employees and despite receiving compliance assistance information from OSHA. The agency issues a willful citation when an employer has shown an intentional disregard of, or plain indifference to, the requirements of the Occupational Safety and Health Act.

One repeat safety violation with a penalty of $25,000 was issued for failure to provide fall protection to employees moving between vehicle roofs and mobile stairs or scaffolding.

OSHA inspectors issued nine serious safety violations with $28,000 in penalties and two serious health violations with $5,000 in penalties for allowing employees to operate equipment lacking safety guards; operating without lockout/tagout procedures, which are intended to prevent inadvertent machine start-ups; not inspecting overhead equipment prior to use; and not developing hearing conservation and written respirator programs.

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