OSHA Violations Have Many Ramifications In Cleveland

Canton-based Republic Steel reached a sizable settlement with the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration in April 2014.

The company agreed to abate all the citations in an extensive settlement, which also included an agreement to pay $2.4 million.

While abatement is the costly part of citations, it's necessary in terms of employee relations and liability control.

The agreement also laid the groundwork for a comprehensive health and safety plan Republic Steel will use for its plants going forward.

The new program will take on challenges in a holistic way. Instead of just fixing a piece of broken equipment, it will call for the company to look at why the equipment is failing and determine if there is a problem upstream that needs to be corrected.