US Department of Labor finds GE appliance maker willfully exposed workers to machine safety hazards, causing Decatur supervisor’s fatal injuries

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US Department of Labor finds GE appliance maker willfully exposed workers to machine safety hazards, causing Decatur supervisor's fatal injuries

Haier US Appliance Solutions failed to de-energize equipment as required

DECATUR, AL - Federal workplace safety investigators found that a Decatur manufacturer of GE-brand appliances failed to follow required machine standards that could have prevented a 58-year-old front-line supervisor's fatal injuries while trying to service a door molding machine.

Inspectors with the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administrationopened an investigation of the July 2024 incident at Haier US Appliance Solutions Inc. and found the company allowed workers to bypass the machine's safety doors and did not use required procedures to prevent employee injuries in the carousel-like machine.

"Haier US Appliance Solutions could have avoided this tragedy but put production schedules and profit ahead of employee safety," said OSHA Area Office Director Joel Batiz in Birmingham, Alabama. "This company's troubling history of safety failures in its manufacturing process has posed a significant risk to the more than 1,500 workers at its Decatur location who rely on a safe and healthy workplace."

OSHA cited the company, which operates as GE Appliances, for one willful violation for failing to follow lockout/tagout procedures to de-energize the machine before allowing service or maintenance. Inspectors also cited Haier for two serious violations for permitting employees to bypass interlocking safety doors to gain access to the machine and for not maintaining annual inspections for lockout/tagout procedures.

The company faces $193,585 in proposed penalties, the maximum that OSHA can legally recommend.

This incident continues a history of 40 safety inspections dating back to 2016 at two Haier US Appliance Solutions' manufacturing facilities in Louisville, Kentucky, and in Decatur. These inspections included many machine safety violations, including two repeated and two serious violations of lockout/tagout requirements cited after a 55-year-old worker's fatality in Louisville in February 2019.

Based in Louisville, Haier US Appliance Solutions Inc. manufactures household refrigerators and freezers and employs about 1,575 people in Decatur. A subsidiary of China-based Haier Smart Home Company, Hair US Appliance Solutions has appliance manufacturing facilities in Louisville and Decatur, and distribution centers in Dallas, Denver, northern Georgia and northern California.

The company has 15 business days from receipt of their citationsand penalties to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA, or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.

Visit OSHA's website for information on developing a workplace safety and health program. Employers can also contact the agency for information about OSHA's compliance assistance resources and for free help on complying with OSHA standards.

Learn more about OSHA.

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