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The Ellisville-based electrical transformer manufacturer was cited with 36 serious violations at its Pendorf Road plant
and 15 serious violations at its Eastview plant.
The violations include failing to provide employees with proper protective equipment as well as machine guards and
lockout-tagout procedures, which prevent the startup of machinery during maintenance.
OSHA would not release details concerning the three other violations because the case is in litigation.
"I feel that the matter speaks for itself," said Clyde Payne, area director of OSHA's Jackson office. "OSHA would not
have released a press release if the matter was not significant."
According to the OSHA news release, penalties of $27,500 apiece are being recommended for two repeated violations
similar to ones noted in 2007. Those violations include unlabeled chemical containers and the makeshift shortening of
chains used as slings to lift heavy loads rather than reducing the number of links.
"It is unconscionable for an employer to tolerate serious injuries, including amputations, as just a cost of doing
business, rather than get out into the production areas and fix these numerous problems before employees get injured,"
Payne said in the release.
Officials at Howard Industries had no comment on the OSHA violations or litigation proceedings.
The next step in the process, Payne said, is a hearing before an administrative law judge, who is an employee of the
Occupational Safety and Heath Review Commission. If appealed, that decision will warrant the full three-member
commission's review before moving into the federal courts.
Payne said a hearing date has not been set.
Howard Industries also is facing unrelated investigations from the state attorney general's office and Immigration and
Customs Enforcement, the federal agency whose Aug. 25 raid of the Laurel facility resulted in the largest number of
undocumented worker arrests since the Department of Homeland Security was founded.
ICE arrested 595 allegedly undocumented workers at the Laurel facility and confiscated documents at the company's
Ellisville office.
Howard Industries has not been charged in the federal investigation and has denied any wrongdoing.
Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood also launched an investigation into Howard Industries hiring practices last week
to determine if the company had violated a state law requiring employers to check the immigration status of new
employees through the E-Verify system.
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ELLISVILLE - Howard Industries is contesting $193,000 in fines the Occupational Safety and Health Administration
proposed for 54 violations of federal safety rules at the company's two Laurel facilities in June.