Resources for Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)

Cintas Death Places OSHA Enforcement Authority Into Question

www.occupationalhazards.com

House lawmakers and several key witnesses at an April 23 House Workforce Subcommittee hearing emphasized the need for OSHA to strengthen its enforcement efforts, conduct corporate-wide investigations and mitigate hazards so large, multiple-facility corporations like Cintas Corp. are held accountable for the safety of their workers.

The death of Eleazar Torres Gomez, a Cintas employee who fell from a conveyor belt into an industrial dryer at the company's Tulsa, Okla., facility in March 2007, prompted Congressional leaders like Rep. Lynn Woolsey, D-Calif., and Rep. Phil Hare, D-Ill., to deem the incident representative of how OSHA's lack of enforcement and oversight of workplace safety and health conditions contributes to such tragedies.

“We want to know if there are ways to enable OSHA to more effectively hold large employers accountable for compliance throughout their operations and ensure broader abatement of hazards,” said Woolsey, who chairs the workforce committee.

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