The Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) regularly inspects worksites in New York and elsewhere as part of its efforts to increase workplace safety. If inspections are successful, employers can be confident in the safe nature of their places of business.

However, when inspectors find problems (and they often do), employers are informed and are generally given a chance to fix whatever infractions they have been cited for. Failure to address safety concerns can lead to workplace injuries among employees and penalties issued by OSHA.

An Avon, New York, metal products manufacturer has recently been penalized by OSHA for failure to continually address concerns for which inspectors had previously cited the business. The manufacturer currently faces more than $90,000 in proposed fines.

Essentially, the business had been inspected in 2007 and was cited for several safety infractions. Though these concerns were initially addressed, the problems have since recurred. In addition, the business had committed several new safety violations.

OSHA's Buffalo-area director noted that the employer's failure to address these concerns exposed employees to "potentially deadly or disabling injuries from falls, electric shock, lacerations, battery acid burns, or being struck by or caught in moving machine parts."

Fixing problems temporarily following an inspection is inadequate. In order to guard employees against injuries and death, employers must commit to continual improvement and make lasting changes. OSHA's regional New York administrator recently noted: "It's not enough to simply correct hazardous conditions. Employers must also take and maintain effective and ongoing corrective action to protect their employees."

Source: US Department of Labor, "US Labor Department's OSHA proposes $90,000 in fines against Avon, NY, manufacturer for repeat and serious safety hazards," News Release, Jan. 6, 2012