Walmart can't beat fine over warehouse worker injury
Reuters
Published Feb 24, 2023 02:47PM ET
By Daniel Wiessner
(Reuters) - Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Inc must pay about $11,000 in fines for failing to prevent heavy boxes from falling 40 feet and seriously injuring an employee at a New York warehouse, the U.S. workplace safety regulator said on Friday.
The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) said a review board had rejected Walmart's challenge to a penalty the agency levied in response to the 2017 incident.
The case spawned a novel ruling from a U.S. appeals court last year that expanded companies' liability for neglecting to safely store items in warehouses.
Walmart did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
OSHA in 2020 had fined Walmart $10,684 after cases of crescent rolls fell off a pallet stored on a rack at a warehouse near Albany, New York, injuring a worker. The agency said Walmart had violated a rule requiring that items "stored in tiers" be stable and secure.
The review board threw out the fine, saying the rule did not apply because Walmart had stored pallets of boxes individually instead of stacking them.
But the New York-based 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said in October that tall metal racks are "tiers," so the OSHA rule applied regardless of whether items are stacked.
The case was sent back to the review board, which earlier this month agreed with OSHA that Walmart had violated the rule, the agency said.
Get The News You Want
Written By: Reuters
Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.