The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has proposed $2.78 million in penalties against Ohio-based Cintas Corporation following an inspection into the March 6, 2007 death of Eleazar Torres-Gomez, an employee who worked at the Cintas laundry facility in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Torres-Gomez was killed when he fell into an operating industrial dryer while clearing a jam of wet laundry on a conveyor that carries the laundry from the washer into the dryer.
"Plant management at the Cintas Tulsa laundry facility ignored safety and health rules that could have prevented the death of this employee," said Edwin G. Foulke Jr., assistant secretary of labor for OSHA. Cintas is the largest uniform supplier in North America, with more than 400 facilities employing more than 34,000 people. The Tulsa facility has 160 employees.
Cintas was issued 42 willful instance-by-instance citations of the OSHA lockout/tagout standard alleging violations for failure to shut down and lock out power to the equipment before clearing jams, and for failure to train four employees, who were responsible for clearing jams, that lockout/tagout procedures apply to their jobs and how to perform those procedures. One repeat citation was issued alleging a failure to protect employees from being struck or pinned by the conveyor. Three serious citations were issued alleging failures to protect employees from falls, to have a qualified person inspect the lockout/tagout procedures, and to certify the procedures as required.
A willful violation is one committed with intentional disregard of the requirements of the Occupational Safety and Health Act or plain indifference to employee safety or health. A serious violation is one that could cause death or serious physical harm to employees, and the employer knew or should have known of the hazard.
According to a statement issued by UNITE-HERE, a union which represents laundry and textile workers, the "historic" fine is more than four times larger than the previous largest penalty in the service sector for health and safety violations.
Congressional response. Members of the House Education and Labor Committee said that they were encouraged by OSHA's serious response to Torres-Gomez's death. "The citations against Cintas are strong first steps to make sure the company complies with basic worker protections throughout its operations," said Rep. George Miller (D-CA), chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee in a statement released August 17. "This should be a wake-up call for Cintas that worker safety is not a secondary concern. I encourage OSHA to follow up on this investigation and ensure that all laundry facilities eliminate this hazard where similar equipment is used." According to the statement, Cintas initially blamed Torres-Gomez for the incident, but OSHA found that Cintas ignored safety and health rules that could have prevented his death. "The citation handed down by OSHA today proves that Cintas' inaction led to the death of Mr. Torres-Gomez--despite the company's ridiculous allegations that he tried to commit suicide or was too "stupid" to operate the machinery," said Rep. Phil Hare (D-IL).
Shortly following the death of Torres-Gomez, the Workforce Protections Subcommittee sent a letter to OSHA Assistant Secretary Edwin G. Foulke, Jr., calling for a full investigation into the safety hazards at all industrial laundries owned by the Cintas Corporation.
In addition, Senator Edward Kennedy (D-MA), Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, and Rep. Woolsey reintroduced in Congress the Protecting America's Workers Act (S.1244, H.R.2049). According to a press release posted April 26 on Senator Kennedy's website, the bill would amend the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 to expand coverage, increasing protections for whistleblowers and penalties for certain violators. S.1244 was referred to the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions on April 26, 2007. H.R.2048 was referred to the House Subcommittee on Workforce Protections on July 9, 2007.
Cintas' reaction. In an August 17 statement posted to the Cintas website, Cintas CEO Scott Farmer stressed the company's cooperation with OSHA inspectors throughout the investigatory process, "not[ing] that much of what the inspectors found was in compliance, reflecting our long-standing commitments to workplace safety." Farmer indicated that Cintas was reviewing the OSHA inspection reports and would present OSHA with counter-evidence as they "work toward a resolution." Farmer emphasized that "there is nothing more important than our employees' safety."
Additional citations. In a separate case, OSHA issued five repeat and two serious citations with penalties totaling $117,500 to Cintas' Columbus, Ohio, facility for violations of the lockout/tagout and machine guarding standards. OSHA has also opened investigations at Cintas facilities in Arkansas and Alabama. In addition, four citations with proposed fines totaling $13,650 were issued by Washington (an OSHA State Plan state) for similar hazards at the Yakima Cintas facility.
Cintas has 15 working days from receipt of the citations to contest the citations and the proposed penalties before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.
Reprinted with permission. © CCH