Archive for August, 2011
US Labor Department’s OSHA orders Metro North Commuter Railroad to promote and pay more than $141,000 to worker who reported injury
Region 1 News Release: 11-467-BOS/BOS 2011-285
Aug. 10, 2011
Contact: Ted Fitzgerald
Phone: 617-565-2074
Email: fitzgerald.edmund@dol.gov
US Labor Department’s OSHA orders Metro North Commuter Railroad
to promote and pay more than $141,000 to worker who reported injury
Largest amount of punitive damages ordered by OSHA under Federal Railroad Safety Act
BOSTON – An investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has found that the Metro North Commuter Railroad Co. discriminated against an employee by classifying his on-the-job injury as not being work-related and denying him a promotion.
OSHA has ordered the railroad, which provides commuter rail service in Connecticut, New York and New Jersey, to take corrective action by promoting the worker and paying him $125,000 in punitive damages, $5,000 in compensatory damages and $11,651 in legal and medical expenses. The railroad also must pay him the difference between his current rate of pay and that of the new position, plus interest, and correct its records to show his injury as work-related. Additionally, Metro North must post a notice to employees at all 120 of its stations of their protections under the Federal Railroad Safety Act as well as provide all employees with an FRSA fact sheet and information on reporting work-related injuries and illnesses.
“Metro North’s policies and actions knowingly violate the employee protection provisions of the Federal Railroad Safety Act and may deter employees from reporting on-the-job injuries for fear of financial or career consequences,” said Marthe Kent, OSHA’s New England regional administrator in Boston. “The railroad’s blatant disregard for its employees’ rights and its refusal to cooperate with our investigation warrant these significant punitive damages, which are the highest ordered to date by OSHA in a FRSA-related discrimination investigation.”
The worker filed a complaint with OSHA in October 2008 after Metro North classified his July 2008 injury as not work-related even though it occurred on the job, which forced him to pay out of pocket for injury-related medical expenses. Metro North notified the worker in November 2008 that he was not selected for a promotion for which he had previously applied. That decision was based in part on the worker’s injury record, which should not have been considered in evaluating the promotion request. OSHA’s investigation determined that both the injury misclassification and the promotion denial constituted discrimination against the worker.
Metro North and the complainant each have 30 days from receipt of the findings to file an appeal with the Labor Department’s Office of Administrative Law Judges. Under the FRSA, employees of a railroad carrier and its contractors and subcontractors are protected against retaliation for reporting on-the-job injuries, reporting certain safety and security violations, and cooperating with investigations by OSHA and other regulatory agencies.
OSHA enforces the whistleblower provisions of the FRSA and 20 other statutes protecting employees who report violations of various airline, commercial motor carrier, consumer product, environmental, financial reform, food safety, health care reform nuclear, pipeline, public transportation agency, railroad, maritime and securities laws. Under these laws, enacted by Congress, employers are prohibited from retaliating against employees who raise various protected concerns or provide protected information to the employer or to the government. Employees who believe that they have been retaliated against for engaging in protected conduct may file a complaint with the secretary of labor for an investigation by OSHA’s Whistleblower Protection Program. Detailed employee rights information is available online at http://www.whistleblowers.gov.
Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, employers are responsible for providing safe and healthful workplaces for their employees. OSHA’s role is to ensure these conditions for America’s working men and women by setting and enforcing standards, and providing training, education and assistance. For more information, visit http://www.osha.gov
Editor’s note: The Labor Department does not release names of employees involved in whistleblower complaints.
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U.S. Department of Labor news materials are accessible at http://www.dol.gov. The information above is available in large print, Braille, audio tape or disc from the COAST office upon request by calling 202-693-7828 or TTY 202-693-7755.
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Imperial and ExxonMobil Pursuing Additional Routes for Kearl Modules, Reducing Size
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Imperial and ExxonMobil Pursuing Additional Routes for Kearl Modules, Reducing Size
Companies to continue to seek permits for original modules and routes
Irving, TX, August 9, 2011 - Imperial Oil and ExxonMobil are pursuing routes for the safe shipment of smaller equipment modules for the Kearl project. The companies are reducing the size and weight of the shipments and will seek permits for an additional route that will use four-lane divided highways and not require road closures or highway upgrading.
“Smaller loads will have reduced dimensions and weight. These shipments can be moved safely and we are working with state authorities to confirm that our transportation plans meet or exceed environmental and safety requirements,” said Chris Allard, Kearl senior project manager.
The reduction in module size and additional routes are being made necessary by lengthy permitting delays for the original modules size shipments via US 12 through Idaho and Montana.
“We have met or exceeded the requirements typically imposed on other oversize load shippers that have used the US 12 route,” said Allard. “We will continue to pursue the permits for those full-sized modules through Idaho and Montana, which is more efficient and cost effective. However, we will also move forward with alternative routes to maintain project schedules.”
For shipments from the Port of Lewiston, ID, in addition to the Highway 12 route, the companies are using an additional route north on US 95 in Idaho, then east along I-90 through Idaho and Montana, and north on I-15 to the Canadian border. Imperial began using this route in mid-July.
The companies are also pursuing a plan to ship additional loads from the Port of Pasco, WA, by truck on US 395 in Washington and along I-90 through Washington, Idaho and Montana, then north on I-15 to the Canadian border.
Imperial has submitted detailed transportation plans to regulatory authorities in the states of Washington, Idaho and Montana that minimize public inconvenience, assure safe transport and comply with all transportation and environmental regulations. Movements will be supported by appropriate traffic control and maintenance/support crews.
For More Information Contact
Pius Rolheiser
Imperial Oil Media Relations
403-237-2710
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ExxonMobil Media Relations
972-444-1107
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US Labor Department’s OSHA intervenes to remove workers from hazardous trench in Auburn, Ala.; cites Arizona company for endangering workers
Region 4 News Release: 11-1081-ATL (391)
Aug. 10, 2011
Contact: Michael D’Aquino Michael Wald
Phone: 404-562-2076 404-562-2078
Email: d’aquino.michael@dol.gov wald.michael@dol.gov
US Labor Department’s OSHA intervenes to remove workers from hazardous
trench in Auburn, Ala.; cites Arizona company for endangering workers
AUBURN, Ala. – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited NPL Construction Co. for two safety violations for exposing workers to excavation hazards while connecting an underground natural gas line on South College Street in Auburn. Proposed penalties total $73,000 following an April inspection.
NPL Construction is a pipeline construction company employing approximately 2,000 workers throughout the U.S., with corporate offices in Phoenix, Ariz. The company has a local office in Moody, Ala.
As OSHA inspectors were traveling to an inspection near Auburn they passed an open excavation where workers were not being protected from cave-ins. The OSHA officials stopped and opened an inspection at the NPL Construction site, and requested that the workers be removed from the trench. One of the walls of the excavation later collapsed.
A repeat violation with $66,000 in penalties was cited for failing to provide a protective system for employees working in an excavation more than 5 feet deep. A repeat violation exists when an employer previously has been cited for the same or a similar violation of a standard, regulation, rule or order at any other facility in federal enforcement states within the last five years. The company was cited in Connecticut in 2010 and Kansas in 2008 for the same violation.
A serious violation with a $7,000 penalty was cited for failing to ensure equipment is kept 2 feet from the edge of the excavation. A serious violation occurs when there is substantial probability that death or serious physical harm could result from a hazard about which the employer knew or should have known.
“Disregarding workers’ safety by leaving them unprotected from potential cave-in hazards is unacceptable and will not be tolerated,” said Kurt Petermeyer, OSHA’s area director in Mobile. “The actions of the OSHA compliance officers likely saved the lives of these workers.”
OSHA standards mandate that all excavations 5 feet or deeper be protected against collapse. Detailed information on trenching and excavation hazards is available on OSHA’s website at http://www.osha.gov/SLTC/trenchingexcavation/index.html.
The company has 15 business days from receipt of the citations and proposed penalties to comply, request a conference with OSHA’s area director or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission. The site was inspected by OSHA’s Mobile Area Office, 1141 Montlimar Drive, Suite 1006, Mobile, Ala. 36609; telephone 251-441-6131. To report workplace incidents, fatalities or situations posing imminent danger to workers, call the agency’s toll-free hotline at 800-321-OSHA (6742).
Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, employers are responsible for providing safe and healthful workplaces for their employees. OSHA’s role is to ensure these conditions for America’s working men and women by setting and enforcing standards, and providing training, education and assistance. For more information, visit http://www.osha.gov.
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U.S. Department of Labor news materials are accessible at http://www.dol.gov. The information above is available in large print, Braille, audio tape or disc from the COAST office upon request by calling 202-693-7828 or TTY 202-693-7755.
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Parnon Announces Oklahoma Crude Oil Pipeline Construction Project
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Parnon Announces Oklahoma Crude Oil Pipeline Construction Project
Tulsa, OK, August 10, 2011 - Parnon Gathering, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Parnon Holdings, Inc., announced the construction of its crude oil pipeline in Central Oklahoma. The project includes laying approximately 109 miles of new 8 inch pipeline from Cherokee, Oklahoma to Cushing, Oklahoma and is designed to move 18,000 barrels per day of crude oil with an option to up rate to 35,000 barrels per day. The pipeline, to be named “Great Salt Plains Pipeline,” will transport production from Central and Western Oklahoma and interconnect with Parnon’s crude oil tanks located at Cushing.
With right-of-way negotiations well advanced and pipe order confirmed, the line is scheduled to commission in March 2012. In response to interest from producers with acreage in Western Oklahoma, plans are being prepared to extend the Great Salt Plains Pipeline (Phase II) further west to serve the Granite Wash and other new tight sands plays. As sufficient interest and commitment to this extension is confirmed, the second phase of the project will run concurrently with Phase 1 and could commission as soon as midyear 2012.
Parnon Gathering, Inc., headquartered in Tulsa, OK, is a crude oil logistics company operating both owned pipelines and trucks and providing transportation and marketing for North America’s oil and gas industry. Parnon Gathering looks to establish long–lasting relationships with producers and refiners and works to maintain and build upon these relationships by providing exceptional customer service.
For More Information Contact
Parnon Gathering, Inc.
+1-918-935-3640
www.parnonholdings.com
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Hartford Encourages Its Food-Industry Clients to Deploy RFID Temperature Tags
A strategic alliance between Hartford Financial Services Group and Intelleflex is designed to improve visibility into the conditions of perishable-food shipments, thereby reducing spoilage and helping to lower the cost of insurance premiums.
Aug. 10, 2011—Insurance company Hartford Financial Services Group—also known as The Hartford—is recommending that its customers employ Intelleflex’s RFID system for tracking the conditions under which fresh produce is transported throughout the supply chain. The partnership involves the use of Intelleflex’s XC3 RFID technology to monitor temperature conditions at the pallet level, by placing ultrahigh-frequency (UHF) EPC Gen 2 RFID tags with built-in temperature sensors within each container, or on every pallet, and by then using Intelleflex readers to capture that data throughout the supply chain.
The partnership was established between Intelleflex and Hartford’s corporate venture division, Hartford Ventures.
Thanks to this partnership, Hartford could request information from clients in order to gain a greater understanding of supply chain conditions at the time that loss of product occurred due to spoilage. And customers using the system would benefit not only from greater visibility into the supply chain, as well as the opportunity to respond to temperature fluctuations, but also from better insurance plans from Hartford, due to the reduced risk of product spoilage. In some cases, for example, clients that might not have previously qualified for certain insurance policies would now be able to do so with the RFID system in place.
What’s more, by using Intelleflex’s XC3 RFID technology, existing clients of Hartford could qualify for a reduction in their insurance premiums, according to Alexander McGinley, the company’s marine underwriting officer, who oversees insurance policies involving the transportation of goods. For Hartford, he says, the solution could provide valuable data from its insured customers in the event of a claim.
“If a covered cause of loss were to have occurred to covered property—spoilage, in this instance—we would ask the insured to furnish us with the temperature records of the [relevant] transit venture,” McGinley explains. With the RFID data, he says, “we would have a better understanding of when the product spoiled, in whose care, custody or control, etc.”
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