This is a question asked by Tom Andel, Editor-in-Chief for MH&Lnews.com.
In a blog entry, he questions how the Occupational Safety and Health division of the North Carolina Department of Labor came up with that number.
“The Black Mountain News quoted a state labor department official as saying that the maximum penalty for each serious violation is $7,000, and that the General Statutes say that the Labor Department has to take into consideration various factors such as the gravity of the violation, the size of the business, the good faith and cooperation of the employer, and the history of previous violations.
The victim in this case, Bobby Ammons, died August 2nd. The judgment was just announced. Ammons was a produce worker who was overcome by exposure to carbon monoxide spewed by a forklift. He was actually one of two workers loading produce from inside a cooler building into the back of a semi-trailer. The trailer was backed into a loading dock, so ventilation was poor or non-existent.”
Read the full article, “ When Forklifts Kill via Slow Poison”
