OSHA Cites Louisiana Oil and Gas Field Service Company, Subsidiaries

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited Superior Energy Services Inc., payroll company SESI LLC and five subsidiary companies in Louisiana with 38 violations of the OSHA recordkeeping standard. Proposed penalties total $337,500.

OSHA’s Baton Rouge office initiated its investigation on Aug. 10, 2010, after receiving a complaint alleging that employees’ work-related injuries and illnesses were not being recorded in the OSHA 300 log. Employers are required to record fatalities as well as all significant injuries and illnesses, including the number of days away from work, the days of job transfer or any restriction that results from the injury or illness.

The five subsidiary companies and citations are as follows:

• Fastorq LLC in Harvey was cited with five willful and one other-than-serious violation with penalties of $130,500;
• H.B. Rentals LC in Broussard was cited with five willful and one other-than-serious violation with penalties of $40,500;
• Production Maintenance Industries LLC in Morgan City was cited for five willful and one other-than-serious violation with penalties of $40,500;
• Superior Energy Services LLC in New Orleans was cited with nine willful and two other-than-serious violations with penalties of $66,600; and
• Warrior Energy Services Corp. in Broussard was cited for eight willful and one other-than-serious violation with penalties of $59,400.

Each of the five subsidiary companies is wholly-owned by Superior Energy Services Inc., a publicly-traded holding company based in New Orleans that specializes in providing oil and gas field services and labor, in the U.S. and internationally.

Superior Energy Services also owns SESI LLC. SESI employs the corporate executive team, which is comprised of employees who oversee the subsidiary operating companies. The responsibility to ensure proper recordkeeping is shared by the subsidiaries and the parent corporation.

Superior Energy Services Inc., SESI LLC and the subsidiaries have 15 business days from receipt of the citations to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA’s area director in Baton Rouge or contest the citations and penalties before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.

Source: OSHA