An enforcement arm of the U.S. Department of Labor has fined the United Parcel Service upwards of $400,000, citing a catalog of workplace safety violations at the multinational shipping chain’s Vineyard Haven package and delivery shop.

The citations follow a late spring inspection of the Carroll’s Way processing facility by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). The inspection found 11 violations that range from serious to repeat offenses, and include blocked exitways, exposure to toxic chemicals, unmaintained fire extinguishers and loose electrical cords.

"OSHA inspectors found several violations affecting employees’ ability to evacuate safely in the event of a fire or other emergency,” according to a release from an OSHA spokesman.

“The agency cited the company for obstructed and inadequate exit routes, lack of proper exit signage, failure to update the facility’s emergency action plan, poor housekeeping, lack of stair rails and improper use of energized electrical cords.”

Under a federal act signed into law in 1970, employers nationwide are responsible for maintaining safe and healthful workplaces for their employees. OSHA is a governmental body tasked with enforcing those labor standards, among other duties.

“The hazardous conditions at this UPS facility can impede a worker’s ability to promptly exit in an emergency, placing them at risk for serious or fatal injuries,” said OSHA Braintree area director James Mulligan in a statement. “Employers are required by law to provide workers with safe and healthful workplaces.”

In total, the company faces $431,517 in penalties for four violations that OSHA has labeled repeat offenses and seven they have deemed “serious safety violations.”

According to a statement from a UPS spokesman, the company is contesting all the violations.

“Our employees’ safety is UPS’s first priority,” an emailed statement from UPS spokesman Matthew O’Connor states. “The alleged violations were reported after the inspection of a single facility in Massachusetts in May 2019. After reviewing the allegations, we have contested all of the findings.”

The inspections were conducted between May 7 and July 23. Violations were issued on Nov. 1, according to a detailed report of the citations and penalties released by the U.S. Department of Labor. Violations labeled “serious” totaled $80,129 and included unmaintained fire extinguishers, non-illuminated exit signs, improper signage, a lack of stair rails at two different entrances to the facility, as well as general disorder in the men’s locker room and server room.

Instances of disorder included “unsteady, and large, heavy” stacks of boxes adjacent to the lockers, blocked passageways, no access to cooling fans and exposure to 12 “mercury laden” fluorescent light bulbs that were “leaning against a wall,” according to the report.

Although the Vineyard Haven UPS processing facility has not been previously fined by OSHA, the company has received citations in the past at plants across the country. Repeat violations, totaling $351,388, included running an electrical cord in a pinch point between a steel door and door jamb as a permanent power source, five instances of obstructions to exit doors and four instances of exit accesses that were not at least 28 inches wide.

The company contested the citations to the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission on Nov. 5, according to UPS and OSHA spokesmen. The independent commission will assign the case to an administrative law judge, after which the parties can either decide to settle the case or hold a public hearing with all the elements of a formal trial, including witness testimony and cross-examination.

The most recent six-figure OSHA citation in the state came in late October, when OSHA fined the Falmouth Dollar Tree store $458,436 for penalties regarding unsafe storage of materials, obstructed exit routes and blocked electrical panels. While seven other UPS facilities in the state have received citations over the past five years, according to OSHA’s database, none have totaled more than $17,000. Most of the other citations reached a settlement.

According to Tisbury health agent Maura Valley, the town has not had an issue with health violations at the facility. “We haven’t had any complaints about that particular building,” Ms. Valley said.

On the Island, OSHA has issued two other small fines to business totaling less than $20,000 in the past year.

Mr. O’Connor emphasized worker safety in his email to the Gazette.

“Our safety policies meet or exceed all regulatory guidelines, and we will vigorously defend the safety of our people and workplace,” he wrote.