OSHA proposes $558K in fines for Texas manufacturer

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration announced Thursday it has fined a shower and bath manufacturer in Waco, Texas, $558,821 for 19 safety violations, some repeat and willful, after alleging that mandatory protections and procedures were “ignored.”

And OSHA inspection in November 2020 found Clarke Products Inc. failed to use required machine guards and failed to follow fall protection rules. In October 2018, OSHA cited Clarke Products for failing to ensure the use of guards. 

The Colleyville, Texas-based company has 15 business days from receipt of its citations to contest. It could not immediately be reached for comment.

Bryan Haynes, partner with Klemchuk LLP in Dallas, which represents Clarke Products, wrote in an email that the company plans to litigate the citations, which are “not the whole story” and that it is company policy “to ensure a safe, healthy workplace for all its employees.”