Cobleskill Walmart cited for safety violations

Local News

Discussion

COMMENTING ON STORIES:

Welcome to our story comments feature. We welcome your thoughts and your opinions, including the unpopular ones. We only ask that you keep your conversations clean, civil and on the topic of the story you are commenting on.

Coinciding with our websites redesign, we launched our new story comments feature through Disqus.

Disqus gives users the ability to log into our story comments feature so that they may be able to track their conversations, receive emails when their comments get a reply or to even have your comments update onto your Facebook or Twitter accounts.

For the time being, our story comments feature will continue to have the ability to post comments anonymously. We reserve the right to require registration in the future using your name and verified email address.

Not all comments are deemed printable. Some are disqualified at the newspaper’s discretion for a number of different reasons. Please follow our Online Rules of Conduct at all times.

RULES OF CONDUCT:

We reserve the right to remove comments that are unacceptable, to wit:

1. False and inacurate statements.
2. Personal attacks. Explicit name-calling.
3. Harassing, harmful, vulgar, obscene and defamatory language.
4. Threatening statements or statements that suggest violence.
5. Hate speech of any kind.
6. Intolerant comments on religion, race, age, gender, sexual preference or disabilities.
7. Accusations of criminal activity.
8. Content that is harmful to children and minors in any way.
9. References to any type of sexual activity and other private matters.
10. Random and inflammatory statements that are off topic.
11. Advertising of any kind.
12. Typing in all caps.

WE ENCOURAGE REASONABLE AND COURTEOUS COMMENTS THAT:

1. Create conversation on issues of interest and concern to fellow readers and local community members.
2. Express opinions and contrarian views.
3. Stimulate debate with respectful language.
4. Stay within the boundaries of these rules.

WE RESERVE THE RIGHT TO SUSPEND OR TERMINATE ACCESS FOR:

1. Violating any of these Online Rules of Conduct.
2. Deliberately disrupting discussions with repetitive messages, meaningless messages or spam.
3. Misrepresentation of identity or impersonating another user.

WE WELCOME:

1. Flagging violations of these rules that you observe to our attention.

MONITORING:

We monitor comments regularly Monday - Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Approval of comments outside of this time (including weekends) will be sporadic.

comments powered by Disqus

June 9, 2012

Cobleskill Walmart cited for safety violations

BY JOE MAHONEY Staff Writer The Daily Star Sat Jun 09, 2012, 03:30 AM EDT

Walmart is facing a total of $52,600 in proposed fines after Albany-based federal inspectors found a range of allegedly serious workplace safety violations at the retailer's Walmart Super Center at 139 Merchant Place in Cobleskill.

The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration said it found the store's emergency exit access from a receiving area to be obstructed by pallets containing merchandise and equipment. As a result, workers were unable to safely operate pallet jacks in the obstructed aisles and passageways, OSHA officials said.

Of the total proposed fine, $48,200 of the penalties stem from three repeat violations in Walmart stores, officials said. A repeat violation is issued when an employer has been previously cited for a similar violation of safety standards, the federal agency said. OSHA said previous inspections at three Walmart stores in New England and stores in Illinois, Ohio and Texas uncovered similar violations.

"The recurring nature of these hazards is disturbing and needs to be effectively addressed," OSHA's regional director, Kimberly Castillon, said in a statement. "An employer with multiple locations, such as Walmart, needs to ensure that hazards are identified, corrected and prevented at all of its workplaces."

Ashley Hardie, a spokeswoman for Walmart, said the company is challenging the proposed penalties for the Cobleskill store.

"Right now we are working with OSHA to reach a solution," she said.

"First and foremost, we are committed to providing our associates with a safe working environment," Hardie said. "We have brought in additional resources to address the specific areas of concern."

Asked to identify the additional resources that the company is bringing to the Cobleskill store, Hardie said: "Those are all discussions we are having with OSHA."

OSHA said $4000 of the total proposed penalty grew out of an alleged "serious" violation involving a lack of eye, face and hand protection, as well as safety training for employees operating cardboard balers.

OSHA said a serious violation is defined as one where there is a substantial probability that death or serious physical harm could result from a hazard about which the employer should have known.

The company has 15 business days from the receipt of the proposed penalties to comply, with OSHA's area director or contest the findings, OSHA said.