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U.S. Department of Labor | Feb. 2, 2015
Largest furniture retailer in the U.S.
exposes employees to amputations, other hazards
ARCADIA, Wis. – In
a three-and-a-half year period, 4,500 employees at Ashley Furniture Industries
Inc., in Arcadia, experienced more than 1,000 work-related injuries. One worker
became another terrible statistic when he lost three fingers in July 2014 while
operating a dangerous woodworking machine without required safety mechanisms in
place. Of the injuries recorded, more than 100 were caused by similar machinery.
After the incident, the U.S. Department of Labor’s
Occupational Safety and Health Administration conducted an inspection of the
facility. Investigators identified 12 willful, 12 repeated and 14 serious safety
violations at Ashley Furniture’s Arcadia location, carrying a total of $1,766,000
in penalties. The company has also been placed in
the Severe Violator
Enforcement Program for failure to address these safety hazards. OSHA
previously cited the Arcadia facility in 2014 after an employee suffered a
partial finger amputation.
“Ashley Furniture has created a culture that values
production and profit over worker safety, and employees are paying the price,”
said U.S. Secretary of Labor Thomas E. Perez. “Safety and profits are not an
‘either, or’ proposition. Successful companies across this nation have both.”
Dr. David Michaels, the assistant secretary of labor of
occupational safety and health, said, “Ashley Furniture intentionally and
willfully disregarded OSHA standards and its own corporate safety manuals to
encourage workers to increase productivity and meet deadlines. The company
apparently blamed the victims for their own injuries, but there is clear
evidence that injuries were caused by the unsafe conditions created by the
company. OSHA is committed to making sure that the total disregard Ashley
Furniture has shown to safety stops here and now.”
Forbes
lists Ashley Furniture Industries, a furniture manufacturer with worldwide
distribution, as the 117th largest private company in America. With annual
revenue of $3.85 billion as of October 2014, the company employs about 20,000
workers at 30 locations nationally. The Arcadia plant is also the largest
employer in Wisconsin’s rural Trempealeau County, with a population of about
30,000.
The 12 willful and 12 repeated violations were cited after OSHA found that the company did
not take the necessary steps to protect its workers from being injured by
moving machine parts. It did not prevent machines from unintentionally
starting when workers were performing tooling and blade changes on woodworking
machinery, and also failed to provide adequate safety mechanisms to prevent
contact with those moving parts. These types of violations are among the most frequently cited by OSHA and often
result in death or permanent disability.
A willful violation is one committed with intentional,
knowing or voluntary disregard for the law’s requirement, or with plain
indifference to employee safety and health. OSHA issues repeated violations if
an employer previously was cited for the same or a similar violation of any
standard, regulation, rule or order at any other facility in federal
enforcement states within the last five years.
OSHA also cited Ashley Furniture Industries for 14 serious
violations, including not training workers on safety procedures and hazards present
when servicing machinery. The company also lacked adequate drenching facilities
for workers exposed to corrosive materials; it committed three electrical
safety violations, and it did not equip some of its machines with readily-accessible
emergency stop buttons.
An OSHA violation is serious if death or serious physical
harm can result from a hazard an employer knew or should have known exists.
View the current citations at http://www.osha.gov/ooc/citations/Ashley_Furniture_Industries_Inc_987512_01-29-15.pdf
Ashley Furniture Industries, Inc.,
has had 33 federal OSHA inspections and 23 state plan inspections since 1982. In
its 33 previous inspections, OSHA issued citations for 96 serious, four repeat
and 38 other-than-serious violations. Four inspections were initiated as a
result of finger amputations, with Arcadia’s 2014 incident being the most
recent. Ashley Furniture’s
workers’ compensation carrier is Twin City Fire Insurance Company, part of the
Hartford Insurance Group.
The company has 15
business days from receipt of its 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.
To ask questions, obtain compliance assistance, file a complaint,
or report workplace hospitalizations, fatalities or situations posing imminent
danger to workers, the public should call OSHA’s toll-free hotline at
800-321-OSHA (6742) or the agency’s Eau Claire Area Office at 715-832-9019.
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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Media Contacts:
Scott Allen, 312-465-4768, allen.scott@dol.gov
Rhonda Burke, 312-909-6630, burke.rhonda@dol.gov
Release Number: 15-133-NAT
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