Injured immigrant worker gets $650,000 in damages
- A federal jury in Massachusetts has found that an employer and his company retaliated against an employee who reported an on-the-job injury.
- The jury awarded $650,000 in damages – $600,000 in punitive damages and $50,000 in compensatory damages.
- The verdict stems from the U.S. Department of Labor lawsuit filed against Tara Construction Inc. and its chief executive officer, Pedro Pirez, in February 2019 following an investigation by OSHA.
- The lawsuit alleged that the defendants initiated a law enforcement investigation and facilitated the employee’s detention by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement after the employee reported a serious injury and caused OSHA to open a rapid response investigation.
OSHA investigating two workers trapped in a chocolate tank
- OSHA is investigating an incident after two employees were stuck in a tank of chocolate at the Mars Wrigley Factory in Elizabethtown, Pa.
- The investigation could take up to six months to complete after OSHA was alerted by the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency about the incident.
- More than two dozen emergency personnel responded to the Mars factory after two employees were “not floating around” in a vat of chocolate,
- Rescue units had to cut a hole out of the bottom in order to free the employees, who survived.
OSHA offers $11.7M in funds for workplace safety training
- OSHA is offering $11.7 million in Susan Harwood Training Grants to support training and education for workers and employers.
- The goal is to help identify and prevent workplace safety and health hazards.
- The grants are geared toward disadvantaged, underserved, low-income, and other hard-to-reach, at-risk workers and employers.
- Numerous groups are eligible for the grants, including nonprofit organizations, community-based, faith-based, grassroots organizations, employer associations, and labor unions, among others.
Death of Texas construction worker being investigated
- A construction employee in McKinney, Texas, died following a work-related accident.
- Investigators were called about 9:40 a.m. after a sewer-line trench caved in and trapped the worker, identified as 41-year-old Paulin Sanchez.
- OSHA is investigating the accident but it does not suspect any type of foul play.
- The accident occurred at a work site near FM543 and County Road 202.