Wal-Mart will soon be a cleaner, safer place to work, thanks to its friends at the U.S. Department of Labor.
DOL's Occupational Safety and Health branch popped Wal-Mart for a $190,000 fine and a settlement agreement after investigating its policies for managing trash compactors, cleaning chemicals and other maintenance-type operations.
The DOL is definitely not taking the summer off. The OSHA settlement is but the latest in a summer flurry of fines, sanctions and settlements with employers over working conditions.
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In the case of Wal-Mart, OSHA was quite specific in its guidelines for how Wal-Mart will be expected to handle trash-compacting going forward.
"Trash compactors must remain locked while not in use, and may not be operated except under the supervision of a trained manager or other trained, designated monitor," the agency said in a release trumpeting the settlement, which covers 2,857 Wal-Mart and Sam's Club stores.
In addition, the company must "improve its hazard communications training; and, for cleaning chemicals, will enhance its procedures to ensure that employees do not handle undiluted chemicals. Also, the company must ensure that a protective protocol is in place in case of any malfunctions with a store's cleaning chemicals dispensing equipment. Wal-Mart will ensure employees are trained on the new procedures in a language, format, and vocabulary that the workers can understand," the release said.
The fine and agreement settles two enforcement cases that began in 2011.
"This settlement will help to keep thousands of exposed Wal-Mart workers safe and healthy on the job," said Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health Dr. David Michaels. "We hope this sends a strong message that the law requires employers to provide safe working conditions, and OSHA will use all the tools at our disposal to ensure that all employers follow the law."
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Dan Cook
Dan Cook is a journalist and communications consultant based in Portland, OR. During his journalism career he has been a reporter and editor for a variety of media companies, including American Lawyer Media, BusinessWeek, Newhouse Newspapers, Knight-Ridder, Time Inc., and Reuters. He specializes in health care and insurance related coverage for BenefitsPRO.
