Companies Refuse to Pay OSHA Fines

By Andy Pierrotti

Published: December 9, 2008

There is always some risk of an accident at work. That’s why the state’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration sets strict rules to prevent disasters from happening.

In 2007, a disaster took David Mill’s father in Taylors, “My father was a great man. He overcame a lot of obstacles in his life,” said Mills talking about his father, David Ingram.

Ingram died May 2007 while working for Clinton Safety Associates near a Taylor’s facility. He suffocated inside a tanker while trying to clean out glue.
   
OSHA cited the North Carolina company for failing to supply Ingram with proper oxygen, and not having a plan in place to get him out quick. “Maybe my father would still be here if procedures [were] followed as they should have been followed,” said Mills.

OSHA fined the company $58,000 dollars, but reduced it to less than half. It’s currently the largest unpaid fine with OSHA.
 
Even after OSHA gave it a break, the company’s owner disappeared. He’s not the only one. A 7 on Your Side investigation found during a 3 ½ year time period, OSHA has not been able to retrieve $222,065 from South Carolina companies fined for accidents and violations.
The state’s OSHA office denied our request for an interview, but it told us it does try to get companies to pay by calling, sending them letters, and through fines from the Department of Revenue. But, is it really that hard to find violators?  We picked the telephone book and found two in Greenville in two days.
One debtor on the list is Violet Chemical in Greenville. It produces cleaning supplies in a warehouse near the old Donaldson Airfield. Violent Chemical owes the state nearly $500 dollars involving workplace safety violations for exposing dangerous chemicals to employees last year.
 
Owner Violet Price told us, “Financially, we’re doing a restructure. We just haven’t had the funds to pay it right now.”

OSHA cited Robby Saunders’ construction business twice over the past 3 years. The builder owes $1,300 for not requiring his employees to use eye protection and for using frayed electrical cords.
He claims he fixed the violations before the OSHA inspector left his worksite. He’s not blaming the economy for his debt, “It’s the principal. I’m not going to pay. I believe that if a person is going to be charged with something, they ought to be warned.”
Unpaid fines are just one reason some say OSHA and some businesses do not take workplace safety seriously. In an earlier 7 on Your Side investigation, we discovered OSHA fines are reduced nearly 70 percent of the time.

This year, congress debated a bill that would increase OSHA’s fines involving willful safety violations, but it does not address companies that do no pay fines.

We took that concern to U.S. Senator Jim DeMint. “Workplace safety is an important part of doing business. As I travel the state, there isn’t a manufacturing plant that doesn’t have signs that don’t say a thousand days without a workplace injury.” DeMint told us after we asked him for his reaction about the unpaid fines.

DeMint says workplace safety has improved over the past twenty years, and he doesn’t think the unpaid fines are important enough to address in legislation.
Mills says companies need take to responsibility and pay up, and he wants lawmakers to listen, “They want it reduced so they can pay it, but when it’s reduced then they don’t pay it, and you know that really ticks me off.”

We contacted several South Carolina U.S. Congressmen, and even U.S. Senator Ted Kennedy’s office, who lead the fight to reform OSHA, but no elected official seems to care that this is going on.

Do you? Let us know or contact your lawmaker in Washington, D.C.

U.S. Senators:

Jim DeMint (R-SC)
202-224-6121
demint.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Contact.Home

Lindsey Graham (R-SC)
202-224-5972
lgraham.senate.gov/index.cfm?mode=contact

U.S. House of Representatives:

Gresham Barrett
3rd District
WASHINGTON, DC OFFICE
439 CANNON HOUSE OFFICE BUILDING
WASHINGTON, DC 20515
P: 202-225-5301
F: 202-225-3216
http://www.barrett.house.gov/

Henry Brown
1st District
WASHINGTON, DC OFFICE
1124 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Phone: (202) 225-3176
Fax: (202) 225-3407
http://brown.house.gov/Contact/index.html

James Clyburn
6th District
WASHINGTON, DC.
2135 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, 20515
Phone: (202)225-3315
Fax: (202)225-2313
http://clyburn.house.gov/index2.cfm

John Spratt
5th District
1401 Longworth Bldg.
Washington, DC 20515
Tel. 202-225-5501
Fax 202-225-0464
http://www.house.gov/spratt/contact.shtml

Bob Inglis
4th District
Washington, DC Office
330 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Phone: (202) 225-6030
Fax: (202) 226-1177
Hours: 8:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m.
http://inglis.house.gov/contact.asp?content=sections/contact/office_locations

Joe Wilson
2nd District
The Washington Office
212 Cannon House Office Building, Washington, DC 20515
Phone: (202) 225-2452
Fax: (202) 225-2455
Hours: 8:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
http://joewilson.house.gov/index.cfm?SectionID=10&ParentID=0&SectionTypeID=5&SectionTree=10