Illegal activities of Southern Bosses for the weeks between Friday, July 26, and Friday, August 2
Texas Killers
An El Paso contractor could have prevented a 37-year-old employee from suffering fatal injuries in February 2024 by following federally required safety standards to avoid trench collapses, the same failure for which the U.S. Department of Labor has cited the employer six times since 2015.
The department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration determined a pipe layer for CMD Endeavors Inc. was allowed to work in an excavation without a proper protective system. The trench collapsed, causing piece of asphalt to fall and severely injure the worker who later died in an area hospital. The City of El Paso had contracted the company for pipework for the Cedar Grove Waterline Replacement project, part of an ongoing citywide initiative.
OSHA issued citations to CMD Endeavors for one willful and one serious violation and two repeat violations related to its failures to provide adequate systems to prevent trench cave-ins, stop nearby materials from falling into the trench, ensure a trench exit within 25 feet, and support adjacent pavement. The company faces $260,848 in proposed penalties.
Virginia Retaliators
As part of a settlement with the U.S. Department of Labor, Maersk Line Limited – one of the world’s largest marine cargo services providers – will change its safety reporting policies and compensate a seaman the company terminated after they reported safety concerns to the U.S. Coast Guard without first notifying their employer.
The actions follow a three-day hearing in June 2024 where Maersk challenged the findings of a whistleblower investigation by the department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration found the company violated the employee’s rights under the federal Seaman’s Protection Act by retaliating against the seaman. OSHA found the company policy, which forbid employees from contacting the USCG or other federal, state or local regulatory agencies without first notifying the company, violated federal law. Workers have the right to report safety concerns directly to authorities without fear of retaliation.
The investigation began after the seaman alerted the U.S. Coast Guard about safety concerns aboard the Safmarine Mafadi, a 50,000-ton, 958-foot container ship, in December 2020. They included lifeboat equipment in need of repair and replacement, crew members onboard in possession of, and possibly consuming alcohol, improper supervision of cadet seamen, and a bilge system not preventing cargo holds from flooding.
In a settlement reached after the hearing in Boston, Maersk agreed to make the following changes:
- Remove any requirement that workers notify the company before contacting the U.S. Coast Guard.
- Refrain from retaliation against seamen who contact the USCG.
- Provide all supervisors with training on the revised policy.
- Distribute OSHA’s Seaman’s Protection Act Fact Sheet to seamen aboard its U.S. flagged vessels for the next two years.
Maersk also agreed to future compliance with all applicable regulations and to compensate the terminated seaman for lost wages and damages. Under the terms of the settlement, Maersk did not admit to violations of the Seaman’s Protection Act.
N.C. Discriminators
The U.S. Department of Labor announced that its Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs has entered into a conciliation agreement with one of the nation’s leading producers of bedding components and home and work furniture, in which the federal contractor will pay $407,402 in back wages and interest to resolve alleged hiring discrimination at a High Point production facility.
During a routine compliance review of Leggett & Platt, Incorporated, OFCCP determined that between Nov. 23, 2018 and Nov. 23, 2020, the employer’s hiring practices at the facility discriminated against 308 Black, White and Hispanic applicants for production associate positions in violation of Executive Order 11246. The law prohibits federal contractors from discriminating in employment based on race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or national origin.
In addition to paying back wages to affected class members, the conciliation agreement requires Leggett & Platt to provide 30 job offers to eligible class members, as positions become available. The company also agreed to review and revise its hiring process and ensure its hiring policies and procedures are free from discrimination.
Dishonorable Mentions
- A U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division investigation found the owner of Pace Enterprise LLC – operating as Pace Realty Group – misclassified 37 maintenance workers and parts runners as independent contractors and, by doing so, failed to pay them overtime for hours over 40 in a workweek, a violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act. Additionally, the employer failed to keep legally required records. Back Wages recovered: $75,061 in overtime wages and $75,061 in liquidated damages for 37 employees.
- The U.S. Department of Labor announced today that its Mine Safety and Health Administration completed impact inspections at 15 mines in 12 states including Georgia, Kentucky, Missouri, Virginia and West Virginia in June 2024 and cited mine operators for 195 violations.
- The U.S. Department of Labor has asked a federal court in Houston to stop the owner and operator of 17 single-family residential group homes and a day habilitation center for adults with disabilities – TEAM Abilities LLC and its founder and CEO Rachel Jelks – from violating several federal employment regulations and to pay $115,077 in overtime wages and $115,077 in liquidated damages owed to 56 current and former workers.
- VibraLife of Katy, LLC, a rehabilitation and assisted living facility in Katy, Texas, violated federal law when it denied an employee an accommodation for her sleep disorder and then fired her, the EEOC charged in a lawsuit.
- The EEOC sued Missouri- based trucking company Transportation Management Group, doing business as Wilson Logistics, for violating federal law when it refused to hire a deaf job applicant because of his disability.
- Mia Aesthetics Services ATL, LLC, and Mia Aesthetic Services, LLC, a cosmetic surgery provider with offices in eleven U.S. cities, illegally discriminated against a disabled employee when it refused to provide a reasonable accommodation and terminated her employment, the EEOC charged in a lawsuit.
- Wal-Mart Stores East, LP will pay $75,000 and furnish other relief to settle a disability discrimination lawsuit brought by the EEOC, which alleged that the company fired a North Carolina employee after they requested a reasonable accommodation, were denied the accommodation, and then fired after they made a complaint to HR