SeaWorld’s Orlando theme park faces $16,550 in Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) fines after a park employee was injured during a training exercise with a killer whale, the agency announced March 21.
An agency investigation concluded that the trainer wasn’t properly protected from hazards while working with the whale. OSHA cited SeaWorld with a serious violation of the General Duty Clause of the Occupational Safety and Health Act for allowing employees to work in close contact with the whale, exposing them to the potential for bites, struck-by hazards, and drowning hazards.
The employer has 15 days upon receiving the citation and penalty to request an informal conference with OSHA’s area office director or to contest the agency’s findings before the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.
Cal/OSHA cites contractor following fatal trench collapse
W. A. Rasic Construction faces $157,500 in state penalties for multiple safety violations following a fatal trench collapse on August 28, 2024, the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) announced March 20.
A worker was inside a 17-foot-deep trench that was unprotected when a portion of it collapsed. The collapse caused a concrete pipe to be displaced, pinning and killing the employee.
Cal/OSHA’s investigation identified serious violations of workplace safety regulations related to excavation and trench safety, including the following:
- Failure to implement an effective injury and illness prevention program: The employer didn’t implement an effective injury and illness prevention program to identify, evaluate, and correct workplace hazards or provide training, according to Cal/OSHA. This failure exposed employees to the hazards associated with working in an unshored trench.
- Failure to conduct a proper inspection of the excavation site: The employer’s inspection failed to identify conditions that could lead to dangerous cave-in hazards or the lack of necessary protective systems, such as trench boxes or shoring, which could have prevented the collapse.
- Failure to provide adequate cave-in protection: The employer didn’t provide the necessary cave-in protection for employees working in an excavation approximately 17 feet deep. The critical safety failure exposed workers to the risk of fatal injury.
“No worker should lose their life due to preventable safety failures,” Cal/OSHA Chief Debra Lee said in an agency statement. “We will continue to enforce trench safety regulations, hold employers accountable and work to ensure that safety standards are upheld to protect workers.”
Federal OSHA has an ongoing National Emphasis Program (NEP) of outreach, inspection, and enforcement to address trenching and excavation hazards. Its 2018 NEP replaced a 1985 trenching and excavation special emphasis program.
In 2022, OSHA announced plans for 1,000 excavation inspections following an uptick in fatalities that year. Last year, the agency acknowledged significant decreases in the number of fatal injuries from the two leading causes of construction industry workers’ deaths—trench collapses and falls—in fiscal year (FY) 2024.
California employers may appeal violations and penalties before the state’s Occupational Safety and Health Appeals Board.