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Job Safety at Theme Parks And Entertainment Venues Criticized by OSHA

Job Safety at Theme Parks And Entertainment Venues Criticized by OSHA
Theme parks and entertainment venues have been put ‘on notice’ by top federal job safety regulators after they found a series of injuries and in death.

David Michaels, assistant secretary for OSHA, said that safety was often not considered the highest priority in the entertainment industry, which even included Walt Disney World and SeaWorld Orlando.

At Disney World, three deaths took placed last summer and a trainer was drowned at SeaWorld by a killer whale in February. All four fatalities propelled OSHA to investigate. Disney was fined $35,200 for one of the deaths. However, they were cleared for a wrongdoing when a stunt performer broke his neck during a rehearsal. The probe for the SeaWorl fatality is still ongoing.

Michaels’ accusations was objected by the representatives from the theme parks. A spokeswoman for Disney World said that safety was their single most important responsibility and the company has a dedicated team whose main task is to measure and enhance safety in the workplace. According to a SeaWorld spokesman, the trainer’s death was an unprecedented and terrible tragedy, but they insist that they are very proud of their workplace safety record.

Michaels said the penalties that can be imposed by OSHA are relatively small and not enough to influence the businesses. He has called on Congress to raise the size of the fines.

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