Wal-Mart Stores Inc. has entered into a corporate-wide settlement agreement with the U.S. Department of Labor to improve safety and health conditions in all 2,857 Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club stores under federal jurisdiction. The settlement, which resolves two enforcement cases that began in 2011, includes provisions for the Bentonville, Ark.-based retailer to enhance safety and health practices and training related to trash compactors, cleaning chemicals and hazard communications corporate-wide. The company also has agreed to pay a fine of $190,000, which is significantly less than the original proposed fine of $365,500 and a drop in the bucket for a company that posted fiscal year 2013 sales of approximately $466 billion. In February 2012, OSHA cited Wal-Mart Stores Inc. for a total of 24 alleged repeat and serious violations of workplace safety and health standards at its supercenter store No. 2859 in Rochester, N.Y. Two separate inspections stemming from a complaint were conducted at the Wal-Mart supercenter store: A safety inspection was initiated on Aug. 2, 2011, and a health inspection began Aug. 17, 2011. At the time the citations were issued, Arthur Dube, OSHA’s area director in Buffalo, commented, “The sizable fines proposed here reflect not only the seriousness of these conditions but the fact that several of them are substantially similar to hazards identified at nine other Wal-Mart locations in New York and eight other states. This situation is unacceptable. A corporate employer must take effective and proactive steps to assess, correct and prevent the recurrence of hazards at all of its locations.”
Posted on: Wed, 07 Aug 2013 19:19:16 +0000
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