NJ.com (08/22/12) Bridget Clerkin

Waste Management in Trenton, NJ, and Labor Ready of Northeast Inc. in Ewing, NJ, have each been fined $7,000 for U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration violations connected to the death of sanitation employee Mark Jefferson. OSHA found the two companies failed to train employees on how to handle heat stress and failed to ensure employees working outdoors during periods of extreme heat consumed enough fluids.

“This tragedy underscores how critical it is for employers to ensure that workers have frequent access to water, rest, and shade to prevent heat illness and injuries during the hot summer months, and also why it is important that workers know how to recognize and respond to the signs of heat-related illness,” Paula Dixon-Roderick, director of OSHA’s Marlton Area Office, said in a release.