OSHA penalizes Main Post Office for serious Safety Violations

Recently, OSHA announced that it had found the United States Postal Service’s Dayton processing center guilty of serious and willful safety violations involving equipment and electrical hazards. Due to its recklessness, the Labor Department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has levied fines of $225,000 against the Main Post Office.

An OSHA spokesman, Mr. Scott Allen of Chicago said that in April, three “willful” safety violations were found. They were:

• Workers weren’t properly trained on electrical equipment usage.

• They weren’t provided with protective gear for their hands, face and extremities.

• They were also exposed to live electrical parts.

Regarding these violations, Mr. Allen said that a willful violation can be defined as the, “Intentional, knowing or voluntary disregard for the law’s requirement, or plain indifference to employee safety and health.” He went on to say that, “When someone does something willfully, we hammer them pretty good.”

Furthermore, OSHA also uncovered 6 more serious safety violations, in which serious injury or death could result from a hazard. As usual the Post Office has three weeks to either comply to or contest the findings in front of an independent OSH Review Commission.

However, the Main Post Office has already started training employees as well as distributing protective safety gear such as face shields, voltage-rated gloves, lab coats and coveralls that have cost the Company nearly $2 million.