In the Wash

Uniform supplier Cintas, whose Tulsa plant was the scene of a gruesome 2007 death, has settled with the federal government regarding dozens of safety violations at six U.S. laundry facilities; but representatives in Congress have decried the settlement for letting Cintas off the hook and allowing further delay of safety improvements.

"On its way out the door, the Bush Labor Department has granted serial offender Cintas a despicable pardon for its failure to protect workers from hazardous machinery," said Rep Phil Hare, D-Ill. "The death of Eleazar Torres-Gomez last year was tragic and preventable. How many lives will be lost before this company is required to gets its act together?"

Torres-Gomez was trying to clear a jam in a piece of equipment in Cintas' Tulsa plant in March 2007 when a conveyor activated and pulled him into an industrial dryer, where he was trapped until he died.

An internal Cintas safety bulletin obtained by the Wall Street Journal in April showed Cintas Director of Safety Richard Gerlach notified managers in 2004 that laundry jams of this type were common and presented a serious safety risk. The bulletin noted that a similar incident had occurred in a Cintas plant in Ohio, but the Ohio worker was not harmed because another worker immediately shut off power to the dryer. Gerlach recommended several basic safety procedures to prevent an accident such as the one that took Torres-Gomez' life, but none were implemented until after the Tulsa tragedy.

In August 2007, the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration cited Cintas for 45 safety violations at the Tulsa plant, including 42 "willful" violations, and proposed a fine of $2.78 million. A company is guilty of a willful violation if the firm intentionally violated regulations or acted with "plain indifference" to regulations. A firm that has committed a willful violation can be prosecuted for a criminal offense.

Cintas, however, is no longer on the hook for any willful violations. The settlement reached with OSHA on Dec. 18 covered the violations in Tulsa as well as infractions in Mobile, Ala.; Columbus, Ohio; Bedford Park, Ill.; San Antonio; and Corpus Christi, Texas. Fines totaling about $300,000 were proposed for infractions at the five facilities outside of Tulsa, including a willful violation at the Mobile plant. As part of the settlement, however, all 43 willful violations were changed to "unclassified citations." Cintas agreed to pay 90 percent of the fines originally proposed, or about $2.77 million, and admitted no wrongdoing.

"We are also upset that the Department of Labor has changed all of the willful citations to 'unclassified citations,' despite the fact that Cintas knew about these hazards and OSHA originally found the company to be negligent," Hare and Rep. Lynn Woolsey, D-Calif., said in a joint press release. "There is nothing in the law that even allows unclassified citations and we are determined to take legislative action to prohibit the declassification of willful citations."

Woolsey, who is chair of the House Subcommittee on Workplace Protections, said one her top priorities is to reform OSHA and make employers more accountable for their actions.

"While I am thankful that OSHA has finally reached an agreement to force Cintas to fix hazards that have resulted in repeated safety violations, I am deeply disturbed that the settlement does not specifically hold Cintas responsible and does not go far enough to prevent future accidents," she said.

Cintas was not required to take action to improve worker safety during the past 16 months while the settlement was being negotiated, and the settlement that was reached provides up to two more years to make the necessary adjustments at some plants.

Once the agreement is made effective by the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission, Cintas will have six months before it needs to begin making permanent safety improvements. At that time, it will need to begin implementation at one-quarter of its facilities. After another six months, Cintas will be required to begin implementation of safety controls in all of its facilities. Improvements must be completed at half of its facilities within one year and must be completed at all its facilities within two years.

"As documented by OSHA, Cintas has a history of repeated safety violations nationwide, and allowing them a full two years to address pre-existing and well documented hazards is unacceptable," Woolsey said.

Uniform supplier Cintas, whose Tulsa plant was the scene of a gruesome 2007 death, has settled with the federal government regarding dozens of safety violations at six U.S. laundry facilities; but representatives in Congress have decried the settlement for letting Cintas off the hook and allowing further delay of safety improvements.

"On its way out the door, the Bush Labor Department has granted serial offender Cintas a despicable pardon for its failure to protect workers from hazardous machinery," said Rep Phil Hare, D-Ill. "The death of Eleazar Torres-Gomez last year was tragic and preventable. ... How many lives will be lost before this company is required to gets its act together?"

Torres-Gomez was trying to clear a jam in a piece of equipment in Cintas' Tulsa plant in March 2007 when a conveyor activated and pulled him into an industrial dryer, where he was trapped until he died.

An internal Cintas safety bulletin obtained by the Wall Street Journal in April showed Cintas Director of Safety Richard Gerlach notified managers in 2004 that laundry jams of this type were common and presented a serious safety risk. The bulletin noted that a similar incident had occurred in a Cintas plant in Ohio, but the Ohio worker was not harmed because another worker immediately shut off power to the dryer. Gerlach recommended several basic safety procedures to prevent an accident such as the one that took Torres-Gomez' life, but none were implemented until after the Tulsa tragedy.

In August 2007, the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration cited Cintas for 45 safety violations at the Tulsa plant, including 42 "willful" violations, and proposed a fine of $2.78 million. A company is guilty of a willful violation if the firm intentionally violated regulations or acted with "plain indifference" to regulations. A firm that has committed a willful violation can be prosecuted for a criminal offense.

Cintas, however, is no longer on the hook for any willful violations. The settlement reached with OSHA on Dec. 18 covered the violations in Tulsa as well as infractions in Mobile, Ala.; Columbus, Ohio; Bedford Park, Ill.; San Antonio; and Corpus Christi, Texas. Fines totaling about $300,000 were proposed for infractions at the five facilities outside of Tulsa, including a willful violation at the Mobile plant. As part of the settlement, however, all 43 willful violations were changed to "unclassified citations." Cintas agreed to pay 90 percent of the fines originally proposed, or about $2.77 million, and admitted no wrongdoing.

"We are also upset that the Department of Labor has changed all of the willful citations to 'unclassified citations,' despite the fact that Cintas knew about these hazards and OSHA originally found the company to be negligent," Hare and Rep. Lynn Woolsey, D-Calif., said in a joint press release. "There is nothing in the law that even allows unclassified citations and we are determined to take legislative action to prohibit the declassification of willful citations."

Woolsey, who is chair of the House Subcommittee on Workplace Protections, said one her top priorities is to reform OSHA and make employers more accountable for their actions.

"While I am thankful that OSHA has finally reached an agreement to force Cintas to fix hazards that have resulted in repeated safety violations, I am deeply disturbed that the settlement does not specifically hold Cintas responsible and does not go far enough to prevent future accidents," she said.

Cintas was not required to take action to improve worker safety during the past 16 months while the settlement was being negotiated, and the settlement that was reached provides up to two more years to make the necessary adjustments at some plants.

Once the agreement is made effective by the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission, Cintas will have six months before it needs to begin making permanent safety improvements. At that time, it will need to begin implementation at one-quarter of its facilities. After another six months, Cintas will be required to begin implementation of safety controls in all of its facilities. Improvements must be completed at half of its facilities within one year and must be completed at all its facilities within two years.

"As documented by OSHA, Cintas has a history of repeated safety violations nationwide, and allowing them a full two years to address pre-existing and well documented hazards is unacceptable," Woolsey said.

Acting Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA Thomas Stohler, however, said the settlement will benefit Cintas workers across the country. The safety measures prescribed by the settlement agreement apply to all Cintas plants nationwide, except those located in 21 states that that administer their own job safety and health programs.

"This agreement ensures that Cintas employees in federal OSHA states nationwide will receive the protections mandated by OSHA's standards," Stohler said. "Cintas also has agreed to a number of other measures that will help create a more safety-conscious corporate culture. This settlement agreement makes such measures binding on the company."

Hare said he plans to bring the case to the attention of incoming Labor Secretary Hilda Solis and to further investigate the matter with colleagues on the Workforce Protections Subcommittee in an attempt to achieve a more appropriate resolution.

UNITE HERE, a union that represents workers in the industrial laundry business, added that the "nearly toothless" settlement agreement includes no mention of future OSHA inspections of Cintas facilities.

"Cintas has been cited for these problems time and time again, and has acknowledged these problems internally for years. That's why OSHA should be strictly monitoring the company, but there are no plans for follow-up inspections in the agreement," said Eric Frumin, health and safety director for UNITE HERE. "The remedies in this settlement are no substitute for strict enforcement of our nation's workplace safety laws."

Cintas, which reported 2008 sales of $3.9 billion and net income of $335 million, said the settlement marks a turning point for the company.

"The safety and well-being of our employee-partners is, and has always been a top priority at Cintas," Chief Executive Officer Scott Farmer said. "This settlement closes a difficult chapter for our company, yet opens another of optimism and continued progress."

The company further said it is re-examining all aspects of its safety program in conjunction with outside experts. Cintas has also made numerous safety improvements since Torres-Gomez' death, spokeswoman Heather Trainer said. It has upgraded presence-sensing devices that stop machines; installed reverse mechanisms that give workers another way to clear jammed equipment; stepped up its training; added personnel to the "wash alley," including safety monitors; and established an executive safety council to identify areas in need of improvement. The company further stated that its total number of recordable incidents dropped 8 percent in 2007, and its safety record is 11 percent better than comparably-sized laundry facilities.

"With OSHA's help, our goal is not only to achieve world-class safety across every Cintas operation in North America, but also to provide a conduit for improved safety across our entire industry," Farmer said.