Avondale Shipyards Again Targeted by OSHA

OSHA charged Avondale Industries Inc. on July 2 with willfully failing to properly record hundreds of injuries and illnesses at its New Orleans-area shipyard and with refusal to make injury and illness records available for inspection. OSHA proposed $180, 000 in penalties for the alleged violations.

Avondale came under fire in April from OSHA and the AFL-CIO for safety violations. On April 5, the agency cited the shipyard for numerous alleged safety and health violations and proposed penalties totaling $537,000. That case resulted from a 64-item complaint by the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers, New Orleans Metal Trades Council, which also alleged recordkeeping violations. Avondale contested the citations. The most recent citations and proposed penalties represent one of the largest cases of recordkeeping violations over the last decade.

"This is not merely a ‘paperwork' violation," said Secretary of Labor Alexis M. Herman. "Accurate records of injuries and illnesses are necessary to pinpoint hazards causing injuries and illnesses and to correct them."

It is obvious from Avondale's response that it plans to contest the citations. In a statement, the company claimed it "is satisfied that OSHA's longest, most comprehensive and most burdensome employee records review in the agency's 30-year history has finally been concluded. OSHA's inspection demonstrated that Avondale's record keeping system is 99% accurate. By any grading system, other than [that of the compliance officer in charge of the investigation] that is an A+. Overall, the OSHA records review demonstrated that, to the best of Avondale's own information, the company's annual log and summary of occupational injuries and illnesses, "OSHA Form 200 1998," is currently accurate and complete."

Avondale says it disputes OSHA's interpretation of Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) guidelines. The company said it intends to resolve that dispute in coming weeks "through discussion with OSHA's higher management or before the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission." The company statement said it "believes its interpretation of BLS guidelines is correct in that compliance with record-keeping guidelines should be measured by reference to the audited, computer-generated OSHA 200 form for the reporting year 1998. Instead, OSHA's conclusions are based on the unaudited and incomplete working draft of logged recordable clinic visits, which is only one of several sources of information used by Avondale in compiling its computerized data base of occupational injuries and illnesses."

Avondale did not comment on OSHA's allegations that it refused to make injury and illness reports available to compliance officers. Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health Charles N. Jeffress said, "Avondale did not cooperate when it came to providing OSHA with access to necessary medical records. The shipyard allowed inspectors to see these records only after a federal court ordered them to do so. They continue to deny OSHA access to the records for leased employees under Avondale's supervision."

The citations are for three alleged willful violations:

• OSHA cited Avondale for not completing the OSHA 200 log and summary of injuries and illnesses as required, with a proposed penalty of $70,000. OSHA said it found more than 700 cases of improper recording when it reviewed a random sample of almost 3,500 employee medical files. The employer failed to enter injuries and illnesses that were recordable, including lost workday cases, involving either days away from work or restricted workdays.
• Avondale was cited for not providing a supplementary record of each recordable injury and illness to OSHA for inspection, and for not maintaining a supplementary record that contained the necessary information, with a proposed penalty of $40,000.
• Avondale was also cited for not providing OSHA with access to employee exposure and medical records, with a proposed penalty of $70,000.