OSHA Cites Lowe’s for Exposing Workers to Potential Forklift Injuries & More

Lowe’s Inc. in League City, Texas, was inspected by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) in January 2019. Based on the findings, Lowe’s was initially penalized a total of $74,109. This inspection was not instigated by a serious or fatal injury, but the serious violations it was cited for allude to potential injuries that happen often in big box stores, including Kroger, Amazon, Walmart, Lowe’s, and Home Depot.

One serious citation that was deleted before the case was closed provides details of what was found in regard to the violation.

Rule 29 CFR 1910.178(a)(4) states: Modifications and additions that affect capacity and safe operation shall not be performed by the customer or user without the manufacturer’s prior written approval.

Inspectors noted the following discoveries made during the inspection:

• Throughout the facility, employees operated a Crown order picker, model #SP 3505-30, and a 15 by 38 plywood platform was added to the forks, and the employer did not have manufacturer approval, exposing employees to fall and struck-by hazards.
• Throughout the facility, employees operated a Yale order picker, model #OSO30EF, and a 15 by 38 plywood platform was added to the forks, and the employer did not have manufacturer approval, exposing employees to fall and struck-by hazards.

Although accidents weren’t associated with the penalties Lowe’s faced after this inspection, such accidents happen on a regular basis. Learn more in this continuing series.

There is no intention on this website to intimate that entities or individuals have engaged in misdeeds. Providing assistance to workers who are seriously hurt or killed in on-the-job accidents in Texas and the families of all the employees who suffered fatal work injuries in cases when the employer is not a workers’ comp participant in this state is one of the purposes of this website.

–Guest Contributor

Written By: smchugh

smchugh