OSHA cites social services agency after youth violence, worker injury

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is citing an Alabama social services organization after receiving a complaint alleging workplace violence, the administration said Monday.

An investigation begun in January revealed workers at Birmingham, Alabama-based Gateway suffered injuries such as bites, abrasions, bruises and stab wounds while working with adolescent clients with known histories of violent behavior, OSHA said Wednesday in a statement.

In the citation, OSHA listed four separate instances of violence against employees in January and February alone, but said in the statement that injuries by violent clients have occurred for several years.

OSHA investigators cited Gateway for failing to protect employees from the risks of physical assault while caring for adolescents known to be violent. The agency proposed total fines of $7,000, the max for a violation classified as “serious.”

According to its website, Gateway “provides counseling, intervention, education, prevention, and foster care” services and is “dedicated to transforming the lives of families in crisis and delivering hope to the hurting.”

“During our investigation, it became clear that management was well aware that its employees were being injured by violent clients for several years, yet they took no action to protect their workers,” Ramona Morris, OSHA’s director of the Birmingham area office, said in a statement. “It is unacceptable for an employer not to take action to protect its workers from known hazards.”