OSHA sets $77,000 in fines for problems at Sodexo laundry
‘Repeat, serious’ violations cited
By Matt Glynn
NEWS BUSINESS REPORTER
Updated: 05/07/08 6:40 AM
Sodexo is facing more than $77,000 in proposed fines from the U. S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration over alleged violations of health and safety standards at its laundry on Grider Street.
OSHA cited Sodexo for 13 alleged “repeat and serious violations.” The agency said it began its inspections in January in response to employee complaints.
The laundry opened inside a rehabilitated former engine factory on the East Side in late 2006.
The agency’s citations covered employees’ potential exposure to hazards like falls, burns, electrocution, explosions, confined spaces, respiratory hazards, blood-borne pathogens, lack of protective equipment and being caught in unguarded or unexpectedly energized driers and other machinery.
OSHA issued six “repeat” citations, carrying $63,100 in proposed fines. Repeat citations are issued when an employer has previously been cited for similar hazards and those citations have become final.
In this case, the agency said, the repeat citations stemmed from citations issued in 2005 and 2006 for Sodexo facilities in Pittsburgh, Cleveland and Portland, Me.
OSHA also issued seven “serious” citations with about $14,000 in proposed fines. The agency says serious citations are issued when death or serious physical harm is likely to result from a hazard about which the employer knew or should have known about.
A message left with a Sodexo spokeswoman in Maryland to comment on Tuesday was not returned.
Sodexo — known as Sodexho before a slight name change — was given 15 business days from the receipt of its citations to contest them before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.
