Dover Plastics Safety Fine Slashed From $49,000 to $3,500

A proposed $49,000 penalty against Dover High Performance Plastics Inc., for an alleged “willful” violation of workplace safety rules is being reduced by the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission to a $3,500 “serious” penalty.

An administrative law judge assessed the $49,000 fine against the Dover, Ohio, company after an April 2014 inspection by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. The OSHA inspector’s citation alleged that Dover failed to provide adequate guarding on seven of its computer-controlled machines, including five lathes and two mills. Lathes and mills both are used for cutting materials, in this case plastics.

The three-member commission ...