Company owner arrested for ignoring OSHA violations
OSHA is serious about forcing employers to pay for the safety violations they receive. Case in point: One individual was recently taken into custody after his company failed to correct violations and pay the fines after multiple OSHA inspections and citations.
Illinois business owner Mike Neri was taken into custody by a U.S. Marshal because he didn’t correct some serious trenching hazards and pay the OSHA fines. Neri, of Mike Neri Sewer & Water Contractor, Inc., has a history of ignoring standards and violations according to OSHA, which is what prompted the Secretary of Labor to file a motion against him.
According to OSHA, Neri’s business — which is in the agency’s Severe Violator Enforcement Program — had been inspected three times over the course of five years and had been issued a series of serious, willful and repeat violations related to trenching hazards.
In 2012, OSHA inspected Neri, resulting in for seven safety violations — including three willful violations — for not protecting his workers from potential cave-ins and other dangerous excavation practices. OSHA investigated after an inspector saw cave-in hazards while driving by the job site. The proposed penalties for these violations totaled $110,440.
OSHA said Neri was also cited for repeat violations when he failed to:
- implement a health and safety program
- train workers on trenching and excavation hazards, and
- make sure workers who were in danger of struck-by hazards had a helmet.
Read More at http://www.safetycompliancealert.com/employer-taken-into-custody-after-repeatedly-ignoring-osha-violations/