In November, we posted "OSHA Tells Retailers to Control Black Friday Crowds- Guidelines are Set (http://bit.ly/1AJ8AA)." We discussed the needs of regulations in the retail industry; unfortunately this issue has once again come up.
In 2008, a Wal-Mart employee was trampled to death by shoppers on Black Friday, following Thanksgiving Day. OSHA went on and fined the company $7000 (the low amount in itself is a different topic) for inadequate crowd management following the death of Jdimytai Damour at its Wal-mart store in Valley Stream. The day of the tragedy eleven others were also injured, including a pregnant woman, when the estimated crowd of 2,000 rushed into the Wal-Mart store looking for pre-dawn Black Friday sales.
Over the last year, Wal-Mart has spent at least $2 million fighting the $7000 citation. Over 20 motions and responses totalling nearly 400 pages have been filed (NYT). Why is the world's largest retailer fighting a $7000 fine, a minuscule amount compared to their billions of dollars in profit? Wal-Mart is arguing that the proposed fine is a retroactive penalty. Greg Rossiter, a spokesman for the Bentonville, Ark., retailer, says "OSHA wants to hold Wal-Mart accountable for standards that were neither proposed nor issued at the time of the incident." Wal-Mart is also arguing that the government is improperly trying to define “crowd trampling” as an occupational hazard that retailers must take action to prevent.
Along with fining the retailer for inadequate crowd management, OSHA has also accused Wal-Mart of failing to provide a place of employment that was “free from recognized hazards.” The New York Times states that OSHA is accusing the company of violating its “general duty” to employees by failing to take adequate steps to protect them from a situation that was “likely to cause death or serious physical harm” because of “crowd surge or crowd trampling.”
The case has become a major drain on OSHA, a branch of the Labor Department. The Department has dedicated 4,725 hours of work by employees in the legal office. Over the last couple of months, 17 percent of the Department's attorney hours have been dedicated to the case. Thus limiting their ability to pursue other violations. It doesn't seem that the case will be washed off the Departments hands anytime soon. Wal-Mart’s lawyers are scheduled to contest the fine before a federal appeals commission (NYT).
A spokesman for the company says, “The citation has far-reaching implications for the retail industry that could subject retailers to unfairly harsh penalties and restrictions on future sales promotions.”
The Associated Press reported that while Wal-Mart is disputing the OSHA action, "it did agree last year to a nearly $2 million settlement with Nassau County prosecutors to avoid a criminal prosecution." The company also set up a $400,000 fund for the victims along with a $1.5 donation to various community programs in the county.
Sources:
Eltman, Frank. "The Associated Press: Wal-Mart Fights OSHA Fine in NY Black Friday Death." Google. 07 July 2010. Web. 08 July 2010.
Greenhouse, Steven. "The New York Times." The New York Times - Breaking News, World News & Multimedia. 06 July 2010. Web. 08 July 2010.
In 2008, a Wal-Mart employee was trampled to death by shoppers on Black Friday, following Thanksgiving Day. OSHA went on and fined the company $7000 (the low amount in itself is a different topic) for inadequate crowd management following the death of Jdimytai Damour at its Wal-mart store in Valley Stream. The day of the tragedy eleven others were also injured, including a pregnant woman, when the estimated crowd of 2,000 rushed into the Wal-Mart store looking for pre-dawn Black Friday sales.
Over the last year, Wal-Mart has spent at least $2 million fighting the $7000 citation. Over 20 motions and responses totalling nearly 400 pages have been filed (NYT). Why is the world's largest retailer fighting a $7000 fine, a minuscule amount compared to their billions of dollars in profit? Wal-Mart is arguing that the proposed fine is a retroactive penalty. Greg Rossiter, a spokesman for the Bentonville, Ark., retailer, says "OSHA wants to hold Wal-Mart accountable for standards that were neither proposed nor issued at the time of the incident." Wal-Mart is also arguing that the government is improperly trying to define “crowd trampling” as an occupational hazard that retailers must take action to prevent.
Along with fining the retailer for inadequate crowd management, OSHA has also accused Wal-Mart of failing to provide a place of employment that was “free from recognized hazards.” The New York Times states that OSHA is accusing the company of violating its “general duty” to employees by failing to take adequate steps to protect them from a situation that was “likely to cause death or serious physical harm” because of “crowd surge or crowd trampling.”
The case has become a major drain on OSHA, a branch of the Labor Department. The Department has dedicated 4,725 hours of work by employees in the legal office. Over the last couple of months, 17 percent of the Department's attorney hours have been dedicated to the case. Thus limiting their ability to pursue other violations. It doesn't seem that the case will be washed off the Departments hands anytime soon. Wal-Mart’s lawyers are scheduled to contest the fine before a federal appeals commission (NYT).
A spokesman for the company says, “The citation has far-reaching implications for the retail industry that could subject retailers to unfairly harsh penalties and restrictions on future sales promotions.”
The Associated Press reported that while Wal-Mart is disputing the OSHA action, "it did agree last year to a nearly $2 million settlement with Nassau County prosecutors to avoid a criminal prosecution." The company also set up a $400,000 fund for the victims along with a $1.5 donation to various community programs in the county.
Sources:
Eltman, Frank. "The Associated Press: Wal-Mart Fights OSHA Fine in NY Black Friday Death." Google. 07 July 2010. Web. 08 July 2010.
Greenhouse, Steven. "The New York Times." The New York Times - Breaking News, World News & Multimedia. 06 July 2010. Web. 08 July 2010.
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