KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has proposed a $796,817 fine for a Missouri contractor due to a hazardous work environment.
It is not the first time the contractor has been fined.
In February of 2021, the company received $299,590 in penalties after federal inspectors found an employee working at least 7-feet below ground in an unprotected trench in Grain Valley.
In December of 2016, Arrow Plumbing employee Donald Meyer, 33, died when a trench he was working in collapsed and he was stuck 10 feet underground.
OSHA standards require protective systems on trenches deeper than five feet. The site where Meyer died had no trench box.
Now, the company is once again being cited following an October investigation where workers were not provided cave-in protection and several other violations.
“Even though Arrow Plumbing and owner Rick Smith agreed to implement a comprehensive trench safety program after a previous fatal trench collapse, employees were again found to be working in an unprotected trench,” said Kansas City's OSHA area director, Karena Lorek in a press release. “This conduct is unacceptable, and OSHA will do everything possible to hold Mr. Smith accountable for failing to protect his workers.”
OSHA said Arrow Plumbing has also failed to pay all of its previous fines.
