Cape Fear Habitat for Humanity cited for ‘serious violation’ by NC Department of Labor following death of employee
NEW HANOVER COUNTY, NC (WWAY) — The NC Department of Labor has released its findings into a fatal workplace accident at the Cape Fear Habitat for Humanity Restore in May.
The Labor Department cited Cape Fear Habitat for Humanity Inc. with one alleged serious violation and one alleged non-serious violation of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of North Carolina. The organization must pay $10,812.50 in penalties.
The accident happened on May 12.
According to the first citation from the NCDOL, the Restore on Market Street stored materials in a way that created a hazard. In the supply warehouse, 25 inch x 144 inch laminate countertops weighing approximately 120 pounds each were stored vertically and held in specific bays by shop-made dividers, which could not hold the weight of the countertops. An employee was fatally injured when a divider failed and a stack of countertops fell onto the employee.
They were fined $7,812.50 for that violation.
The second citation is for not notifying OSHA within eight hours after the death of an employee as a results of a work-related incident. NCDOL says the employer was notified on May 13, but the fatality was not reported to OSHA until May 15, the same day WWAY learned of a Restore employee’s death and reached out to Cape Fear Habitat for Humanity.
They were fined $3,000 for that violation.
The NCDOL’s letter to Cape Fear Habitat for Humanity says the organization has 15 working days to correct the violations and pay the penalties proposed, or request an informal conference with the labor department or to file a notice of contest with the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission of North Carolina.
“The penalties are in no way designed to make up for loss of life. By law, the civil money penalties collected by the N.C. Department of Labor are not the receipts of the department, but rather must be remitted to the Civil Penalty and Forfeiture Fund, which then distributes the monies to the public school system,” the labor department stated in an email.
