OSHA Inspection: POSADAS DE SAN JUAN ASSOCIATES D/B/A WYNDHAM EL HO

Issued

Mar 5, 2004

Abate by

Mar 31, 2004

Penalty

Initial $1,875

General-duty citation text

Section 6(a) of the Puerto Rico Occupational Safety and Health Act:  The
employer did not
furnish employment and a place of employment which were free from
recognized hazards that
were causing or likely to cause death or physical harm to employees in
that employees were
exposed to:
Seccion 6(a) de la Ley de Seguridad y Salud en el Trabajo de Puerto Rico:
El patrono no
proveyo empleo y un sitio de empleo libre de riesgos reconocidos que esten
causando o que
puedan causar muerte o dano fisico a los empleados, por cuanto empleados
estaban expuestos
a:
Employees were exposed to serious injuries such as fractures, puntures,
and death caused by
workplace violence.  The employer did not implement recomendations made in
a previous case
(#301709705) that was closed by our office on 10-june-03.  The
recomendations made by the
office in the previous inspection were:  Post a securty Officer on the
main
entrance, and to take
preventive actions to minimise workplace violence.  The evidence gathered
in this investigation
by the office showed that the employer did not make improvement in the
program to reduce the
workplace violence, neither the employer followed the recomendations made
in the previous
inspection.  During interviews we obtained informatio of workplace
violence incidents were
employees being struck and harassed, there are two workplace violence
incidents that employer
have knowledge and documentation.  One case was 8-Aug-2003 and other was
19-Oct-2003.
There has being other incidents that employees has alledgedly reported
workplace violence
incidents to employer representatives, but employer allegedly do not have
knowledge or
documentation of those incidents.
1. At the Hotel Main Entrance
2. Adyacent areas of Hotel Parking Lot.
Ammong other method, one feasible and acceptable method to correct this
hazard
is to post
security personel in places where workplace violence incidents are
occuring, use the OSHA
Guidelines for a Workplace Violence Program.
Empleados estaban expuestos a lesiones tales como fracturas, punzadas y
muerte causadas por
la violencia en el trabajo.  El patrono no implemento las recomendaciones
hechas en caso previo
(#301709705) que se cerro en nuestra oficina el 10-jun-2003.  Las
recomendaciones hechas por
nuestra oficina eran: Colocar un Oficial de Seguridad en la entrada
principal y tomar acciones
preventivas para minimizar la violencia en el trabajo.  La evidencia
recogida en la investigacion
de este caso demostro que el patrono no realizo mejoras en el programa
para reducir la violencia
en el trabajo, tampoco el patrono siguio las recomendaciones hechas en la
inspeccion previa.
Durante entrevistas se encontro que informacion de incidentes de violencia
en el trabajo donde
empleados habian sido golpeados y amenazados.  Un caso fue el 8-Aug-2003 y
otro
el 19-Oct-
2003.  Han habido otros incidentes donde alegadamente otros empleados han
reportado
incidentes de violencia en el trabajo a representantes patronales, pero
patrono alegadamente no
tiene conocimiento ni documentacion de esos incidentes.
1. Entrada Principal del Hotel
2. Areas adyacentes al Estacionamiento del Hotel.
Entre otros metodos, un metodo factible y aceptable para corregir este
riesgo es colocar un
personal de seguridad en lugares donde incidentes de violencia en el
trabajo esten ocurriendo,
usar la Guia para Programa de Violencia en el Trabajo promulgadas por OSHA.