Austin Manufacturer Hit with OSHA Fine

Dozens of OSHA Violations & Health Hazards Led to This Stiff Penalty 

A major modular home manufacturer in Texas and the U.S. is now responsible for paying the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) more than a quarter of a million dollars in penalties. Austin’s branch of Cavco Industries is currently on the hook for this massive fine due to the findings from an OSHA inspection in late 2023.

Here’s what authorities discovered during their investigation and how workers who may face similar risks can protect themselves in the face of unsafe working conditions. 

OSHA Inspection Reveals Dozens of Serious Violations & Safety Hazards

OSHA regulators initiated their inspection of Cavco facilities in Austin on October 5, 2023. Notably, this OSHA inspection: 

• Spanned three months: Regulators investigated Cavco’s facilities in Austin through October, November, and December 2023, wrapping up their inspection on January 10, 2024. Crucially, the inspection site was operating under the name, “Palm Harbor Homes,” with about 200 employees at this location.
• Was not a surprise: Cavco was not selected randomly or for a “surprise” inspection. Instead, OSHA planned to inspect Cavco’s Austin facilities as part of a program focused on companies that have higher-than-average injury rates (i.e., the National Emphasis Program Site-Specific Targeting). 

Over the course of its three-month investigation, OSHA authorities discovered hazards like (and not limited to): 

• Missing fall protections: Workers on roofs had zero guardrails, safety net systems, or personal fall protection systems, putting them at substantial risk of falling at least 4 feet. These falls can cause catastrophic injury, irreversible damage, and even death, depending on what lies below.
• Improper use of ladders: Inspectors witnessed ladders on roll carts when the ladders were too short to reach the desired location. Similarly, ladders equipped with wheels reportedly lacked locks to prevent movement while employees climbed and worked off of ladders.
• Failures to maintain clear, safe walking surfaces: This included walking areas in storerooms and service rooms, as well as general passageways. In the chassis shop specifically, overspray from painting had created slip-trip-and-fall hazards in common walkways.
• Overhead hazards: Some employees worked under suspended loads without any head protection, putting them at risk of being hit by falling objects.
• More: Inspectors found many other violations, including a lack of electrical shutoffs, failures to routinely inspect fire extinguishers, missing welding screens, various electrical hazards, hazardous materials handling failures, training failures, and more. 

Summing up their findings, inspectors issued a 48-page report, detailing 23 serious violations and a few “other-than-serious” violations, with a fine for each item. 

Cavco’s History of Risky Sites, OSHA Violations

Though Cavco’s Austin facility was the focus of the recent OSHA investigation and penalties, it’s not the only location to come under fire for safety violations and health hazards. In fact, according to federal records: 

• Since 2015, Cavco has been subjected to multiple inspections at its facilities nationwide. These inspections have resulted in at least 38 violations from facilities in four different states.
• Since the Oct. 2023 Austin inspection, OSHA has opened up five additional cases focused on Cavco facilities. Specifically, OSHA records show that ongoing inspections are occurring at Cavco facilities in Texas, Arizona, Oklahoma, and North Carolina, with two inspections occurring at the NC Hamlet facility. The Texas inspection, initiated on Jan. 14, 2024, is happening at Cavco’s Fort Worth facility.
• Of all OSHA cases opened for Cavco since 2019, 1 in 3 arose from a complaint or a referral. 

Commenting on its investigations and regulators’ mission to keep all workers safe, Austin-Area OSHA Director Monica Camacho stated: 

The findings of our investigations and Cavco Industries’ history of violations suggest that the company is failing in its responsibility to keep work areas safe and healthful… OSHA has specific standards for the manufacturing industry and provides many resources to inform employers and employees. There is no excuse for these kinds of failures that expose workers to serious and potentially fatal injuries.”

Current OSHA investigations at the Fort Worth manufacturing plant and other Cavco facilities could take at least a few more months to wrap up, depending on inspectors’ findings. While many eagerly await the outcomes of these inspections, some wonder whether Cavco will do better and show that it has learned from the past. 

Whether or not that happens, this is another example of how companies can fail their employees, putting their health, safety, and lives at risk again and again, even when they’re on authorities’ radar. That doesn’t negate workers’ rights or legal options, however. And it doesn’t leave them alone to figure out how to seek justice when their employers’ failures, oversights, and negligence have caused real harm.