Illegal activities of Southern bosses during the week between Friday, February 27, and Friday, March 6
Every day across the south workers are killed on the job, stolen from, discriminated against, or sexually harassed. Sometimes the employers are caught. Here are a couple stories from last week:
Florida Killers
The U.S. Department of Labor has cited a Florida plumbing, heating, and air conditioning contractor for exposing workers to struck-by hazards after an employee suffered a fatal injury at a Bal Harbor Shops worksite in August 2025.
The department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration found that on Aug. 28, 2025, a Hyvac Inc. pipefitter installing a new air-conditioning system for a mall expansion construction project was fatally injured from a pressurized HVAC piping system.
The employer was cited with two serious violations for exposing workers to struck-by hazards by not verifying piping was free from stored pressure before employees performed work on the system and did not train workers to recognize and avoid hazards associated with removing HVAC end caps on pressurized piping systems.
OSHA proposed $28,135 in penalties.
Hyvac Inc. has 15 business days from receipt of the citations and penalties to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA’s area director, or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission. Penalties and citations may be adjusted throughout the course of the case process.
More Florida Killers
The U.S. Department of Labor has cited a Land O’ Lakes-based petroleum tank services contractor for exposing workers to chemical and respiratory hazards after an employee was fatally exposed to benzene and toluene when they entered a fuel storage tank at a Lake Worth worksite in July 2025.
Investigators with the department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration cited PCE Petroleum Contractors Enterprises Inc. with 12 serious violations for failing to develop and implement a written permit-required space entry program, ensure those authorized to enter the space knew the hazards, and signs or symptoms of exposure.
The agency also cited the employer for allowing employees to enter a confined space without an atmospheric evaluation or a required permit, not having a written respiratory program for workers required to wear full-face respirators, and not implementing a hazard communication program when exposed to chemicals.
OSHA proposed $60,242 in penalties.
PCE Petroleum Contractors Enterprises Inc. has contested the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission. Penalties and citations may be adjusted throughout the course of the case process.
Florida Harassers
Rivers Edge Enterprises, LLC, doing business as River’s Edge Bar and Grill in Gibsonton, Florida, will pay $65,000 to settle a federal sexual harassment lawsuit brought by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).
In its lawsuit, the EEOC charged that one of the restaurant’s owners, who owns the bar with two of his brothers, would engage in sexually charged behavior; ask women about sexual acts; show employees pornographic websites; and tell employees to call him “daddy.” The owner also touched female employees without their consent and texted female employees sexually suggestive messages and images, as well as photographs of guns. The EEOC further asserted that when a female employee complained about the harassment, she was fired in July 2022.
The conduct alleged in EEOC’s complaint violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The EEOC filed suit in U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, Tampa Division after first attempting to reach a voluntary pre-litigation settlement through its conciliation process.
In addition to providing monetary relief to the original complainant and one additional class member, the three-year consent decree settling the case requires River’s Edge Bar and Grill to implement meaningful equitable relief, including the hiring of an outside monitor to provide training and conduct workplace investigations during the decree’s three-year term. In addition, River’s Edge Bar and Grill agreed to revise its sexual harassment policy and complaint procedure, post a notice regarding the lawsuit, and submit biannual reports to the EEOC regarding any complaints of sexual harassment.