OSHA Cites Convenience Store Following Robbery and Shooting
The vast majority of citations issued by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration involve accidents or negligent behavior that result in injury or illness resulting from inanimate objects, hazardous materials, or acts of God. In some circumstances however, OSHA cites employers after a criminal act by a third party. Earlier this week, the agency cited a Florida convenience store chain for the maximum $16,131 amount following a shooting during a robbery, which seriously injured the clerk. While OSHA regulations do not address workplace violence, over the years the agency has issued a number of guidelines and best practices for employers with high risks of exposure to workplace violence such as convenience store and health care workers . In this case, OSHA used these guidelines, among others, to cite the employer under the General Duty Clause, a catch-all provision that allows OSHA to issue penalties in the event of exposure to serious injury or death in the absence of a sp...