Individuals who are injured on the job may be entitled to receive workers’ compensation benefits. Being hurt in a work accident can leave a worker in a tight financial situation, especially with medical expenses and lost wages.
Such may be the case for some of the workers employed by the A-Treat Bottling Company at its Allentown, Pennsylvania bottling facility. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration cited the A-Treat Company for six repeat violations that put the safety and health of plant workers at increased risk.
According to the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, companies are required to provide a “safe and healthful workplace” for their employees. OSHA is responsible for assuring that health and safety standards for workers and their work environments are met and maintained by employers.
The repeat violations included:
- Overexposure to noise hazard
- Failure to conduct adequate lift-truck operations
- Failure to installing guards on machines to protect employees
The company was also cited for not maintaining the required records. This is not the first time that the plant has been cited for these types of violations.
An additional 17 serious violations were also found by OSHA inspections. These ranged from inadequate training programs for potentially dangerous procedures and not providing proper eye wash stations for the employees. Without these types of safeguards, employees could get seriously injured at work.
When a company is found in violation of safety regulations, they receive citations with fines that must be paid. In this particular situation, the bottling company has been issued fines that total over $110,000.
Source: OSHA News Release: “US Labor Department’s OSHA cites Allentown, Pa., soft drink company for exposing workers to safety and health hazards,” Aug. 3, 2011.