OSHA Inspection: NEW DIRECTIONS YOUTH & FAMILY SERVICES, INC.

Issued

Dec 7, 2009

Abate by

Jan 9, 2010

Penalty

Initial $7,000 · Current $2,000 Reduced

General-duty citation text

Section 5(a)(1) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970:  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 serious physical harm to
employees in that employees
were exposed to violence in the work place.
(a)  On or about 06/08/09, in the Avenue Home, a youth counselor was
bludgeoned to
death  during performance of her regularly assigned duties which consist
of counseling
troubled youth.  Employees are exposed to workplace violence hazards that
are likely to
cause death or serious physical harm.  The employer had not developed or
implemented
adequate measures to protect employees from physical assault in the
workplace.
Feasible methods of abatement include (1) training employees on workplace
violence as required
in the organization' "Violence Free Environment" policy and (2) ensure
that employees who are
exposed to workplace violence are provided with and trained on alarm
systems and other security
devices such as panic buttons, hand-held alarms or noise devices and
arrange for a reliable
response system when an alarm is triggered.