OSHA Fines Thomas Industrial Coatings Following Two Worker Fatalities in Kansas City - U.S. Newswire
The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) cited Thomas Industrial Coatings Inc. of Pevely, Mo., for 33 willful, including 'instance-by-instance' willful, and eight serious alleged violations of job safety and health standards. Proposed penalties total $2,362,500.
OSHA's citations resulted from the investigation of two fatal workplace accidents within two months involving the painting contractor. Both accidents occurred at the same bridge painting worksite in Kansas City and the same suspended scaffold. One employee died when he fell through a hole in the platform while he was painting. The other employee fell to his death while dismantling the scaffold.
'Not only did two workers suffer fatal falls while working in Kansas City, but another employee of this company suffered a fatal fall in a similar accident earlier in the year in the St. Louis area,' said Edwin G. Foulke Jr., assistant secretary of labor for occupational safety and health. 'Three fatalities in five months show gross plain indifference to employee safety. Employers must ensure that their workers are protected from unsafe working conditions.'