Federal regulators have leveled substantial financial penalties against an express car wash chain following an investigation into workplace safety practices in New Jersey. According to a recent announcement from the U.S. Department of Labor, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has proposed $446,864 in fines for ModWash LLC after identifying willful violations at its Sicklerville facilities.
The agency’s inspection revealed that the company failed to implement mandatory hazardous energy controls. Specifically, OSHA investigators determined that workers were required to perform maintenance on equipment without utilizing necessary lockout procedures to isolate power sources. These actions led the department to classify the exposures as willful, highlighting a disregard for established safety protocols required to prevent machinery from engaging during service.
Beyond these initial findings, the regulatory body documented repeat violations regarding the company’s lack of clear lockout instructions and failure to provide required training on energy control processes. The investigation also resulted in five serious citations. These violations included missing noise monitoring programs and the failure to perform baseline audiometric testing for staff exposed to high noise levels. Additionally, the company failed to provide lockout and tagout tools during maintenance, and it received five serious citations for lacking a program to monitor noise levels reaching 85 decibels.
Following these citations, ModWash LLC is entitled to seek an informal meeting with the agency to discuss the findings. The company may also choose to challenge the proposed penalties or the underlying citations before the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission. The operator has a window of 15 business days from the receipt of the notification to initiate any of these responses.
For insurance professionals, this case underscores the critical nature of comprehensive safety oversight, particularly regarding lockout/tagout standards and environmental hazards like industrial noise. Compliance failures of this scale often reflect broader issues within a company’s internal risk management framework. These enforcement actions warn underwriters and risk managers that recurring safety gaps create significant liability. Such issues lead to intense regulatory scrutiny and financial exposure for firms in any industry.
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Source: U.S. Department of Labor
