Health

Wal-Mart Fined $7000 for Black Friday Death

by cyn.khoo | May 27, 2009 at 11:24 am

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Wal-Mart is to be fined $7000 for the death of an employee that occurred on Black Friday, November 28, 2008, when a store clerk was pushed to the ground and trampled to death by hordes of frenzied shoppers. The fine was issued by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), on the grounds of "inadequate crowd management".

The citation carries a proposed fine of $7,000, the maximum penalty for a serious violation. OSHA issues serious citations when death or serious physical harm is likely to result from hazards that the employer knew or should have known about.

OSHA's inspection found the store's failure to implement reasonable and effective crwd management meant employees could be crushed by the crowd. The failure included not providing employees with training and tools to safely manage the large crowd of shoppers.

Previously, Wal-Mart had also agreed to provide nearly $2 million in compensation to avoid criminal prosecution.