More evidence of OSHA’s recordkeeping crackdown: Lowe’s cited

Companies continue to be uncertain what OSHA’s new focus on recordkeeping may mean for them. A large national retailer just found out.

OSHA tagged Lowe’s Home Centers Inc. in Cincinnati and Dayton, Ohio, with $110,000 in proposed penalties for continually failing to document and report employee injuries and illnesses.

Here’s what OSHA said about it:

“As a result of an October 2009 inspection in Cincinnati, OSHA issued Lowe’s four willful citations with a proposed penalty of $40,000. Based on a November 2009 inspection, OSHA issued the Dayton store seven willful citations with a proposed penalty of $70,000. A willful violation is one committed with intentional, knowing or voluntary disregard for the law’s requirement, or plain indifference to employee safety and health.”

OSHA requires employers to record and maintain occupational injuries and illnesses on the OSHA 300 log.