Walmart Stores Inc. (Bentonville, Ark.) has agreed to a federal request to improve safety conditions related to trash compactors and cleaning chemicals in more than 2800 of its stores.
According to the U.S. Dept. of Labor, the settlement requires Walmart to pay a $190,000 fine and to make certain changes in its store maintenance operations. Trash compactors must remain locked when not in use, and may not be operated except under the supervision of a trained manager or monitor. And the retailer pledged to improve training for workers using cleaning chemicals and to upgrade procedures so that workers did not handle undiluted chemicals.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration cited Walmart after violations of safe practices were found at a Walmart store in Rochester, N.Y., in 2011.
The settlement covers all 2857 Walmart and Sam’s Club stores in the 28 states where OSHA enforces safety and health practices. The other 22 states have an option of requesting the same provisions from the stores.