by Brianna Crandall — February 8, 2016—In a precedent-setting decision, an administrative law judge ruled in December that the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission may have authority under the Occupational Safety and Health Act to order abatement measures sought by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration beyond the specific violations OSHA identified in its citations.
OSHA cited Central Transport LLC in November 2014 for 14 violations of workplace safety and health standards at the freight hauler’s Billerica, Massachusetts, shipping terminal. A total of $330,800 in fines was proposed. Central Transport filed a notice of contest with the independent OSH Review Commission in December of that year, and litigation commenced.
In its complaint to the commission, the Labor Department alleged that Central Transport failed to comply with the OSHA standards for the safety of powered industrial trucks at locations other than the inspected worksite, and requested an order compelling Central Transport to comply with the powered industrial truck standard at all its locations.
Central Transport then filed a motion asking the commission to strike the Department’s claim for enterprise-wide hazard abatement, arguing that the OSH Act does not permit it. Administrative Law Judge Carol A. Baumerich denied Central Transport’s motion, holding that the OSH Act’s provision authorizing the remedy of “other appropriate relief” provides the basis for allowing the DOL’s claim for enterprise-wide abatement, at all locations where like violations exist, to proceed to trial.
“When an employer has hazards occurring at multiple locations, common sense and reasonable worker protection law enforcement both dictate that the employer take corrective action to safeguard the health and well-being of employees at all its worksites,” concluded Kim Stille, OSHA’s regional administrator for New England.
