A sawmill in Florence was fined $1.4 million after an investigation into the death of a 16-year-old employee in June.
According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the teen was working at Florence Hardwoods June 29 when he became trapped in stick stacker machine that he had been trying to unjam. The boy was transported to the hospital and died from his injuries two days later.
“There is no excuse for allowing underage workers to operate this type of machinery,” said Acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su. “Federal child labor and safety regulations exist to prevent employers from putting children at risk. They also exist to hold employers like Florence Hardwoods accountable for endangering these young workers.”
Investigators with the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration determined Florence Hardwoods LLC failed to train workers in safety procedures to prevent dangerous equipment from moving during service and maintenance tasks. OSHA said minors were exposed to the hazards which led to an investigation by the department’s Wage and Hour Division. Florence Hardwoods discontinued employment of all minors within days of the teen’s injury.
Investigators also alleged fall, machine guarding and electrical hazard violations at the Florence sawmill, similar to infractions they were cited for in 2020.
Since 2019, at least five employees of Florence Hardwoods, Sagola Hardwoods and Minerick Logging have suffered serious injuries due to lockout failures, including a fatality at Minerick Logging where a worker suffered fatal injuries while servicing a trailer in 2019.
The agency cited the company for eight willful, six repeat, 29 serious and four other-than-serious violations of federal safety and health regulations. OSHA categorized five of the willful citations as egregious – the most serious violations the agency issues. The agency has placed the company in the agency’s Severe Violator Enforcement Program.
The completion of the OSHA investigation comes after a federal consent order and judgment entered in September in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, Green Bay Division, ordering Florence Hardwoods to comply with, Fair Labor Standards Act’s child labor provisions and pay $190,696 in civil money penalties to resolve its child labor violations. The court action followed an investigation by the department’s Wage and Hour Division. Florence Hardwoods verified to the court that no one under the age of 18 is now employed by the company.
The company has 15 days to contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.
