March 6, 2024

Department of Labor settlement agreement affirms citations, $299K penalty against Pennsylvania company for hazards at South Jersey site

Regal Industrial Corp. to take enhanced compliance measures

MILLVILLE, NJ – The U.S. Department of Labor has reached a settlement agreement to resolve litigation against a Pennsylvania manufacturer that followed an April 2022 safety and health investigation. The investigation resulted in 17 affirmed violations of federal workplace safety standards at their manufacturing site located  in Millville.

The settlement agreement between the department's Occupational Safety and Health Administration and Regal Industrial Corp. affirms four willful, 11 serious and two other-than-serious citations –and a corresponding $299,000 proposed penalty –issued after a complaint investigation that began on April 18, 2022.

OSHA cited the company for failure to:

• Provide training on respirator use and medical evaluations to determine if employees were physically capable of wearing respirators .
• Develop and implement a written hazard communication program.
• Maintain safety data sheets onsite and train employees on chemical hazards.
• Provide fall protection and machine guarding.
• Train forklift operators and certify them.
• Ensure safe use of electricity in areas where flammable paints were sprayed.
• Keep emergency exits unobstructed.
• Establish and follow a routine schedule for floor cleaning and removal of combustible residue.
• Ensure proper guarding of abrasive wheels on portable grinders.

As part of the settlement agreement, Regal Industrial Corp. must implement enhanced abatement measures. These include establishing a safety and health management program with clear safety and health goals; consulting with workers in developing, updating, implementing and evaluating the program; and identifying, assessing and documenting workplace hazards.

Regal will also establish and implement a plan to prioritize and control identified hazards, provide education and training to workers in a language and vocabulary they can understand and conduct a periodic review to determine if the program has been implemented as designed and is making progress toward its goals.

"This positive outcome demonstrates the value of the vigorous enforcement and litigation efforts by OSHA and the department's Office of the Solicitor to ensure that employers come into compliance and make meaningful safety improvements for their workers," said Regional Solicitor of Labor Jeffrey S. Rogoff in New York.

Regal Industrial Corp. provides abrasive blasting, metallizing, and coating applications for steel and concrete structures such as bridges, marine structures, piping, and railings. It was founded in 1974 in Donora, Pennsylvania.

Learn more about OSHA.

Media Contacts:

Leni Fortson, 215-861-5102, uddyback-fortson.lenore@dol.gov
Joanna Hawkins, 215-861-5101, hawkins.joanna@dol.gov

Release Number:  24-406-NEW