Wal-Mart gets cited for Black Friday tragedy by OSHA

Retail giant Wal-Mart has settled with U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration, or OSHA for short, following being cited for the death of a temporary worker during a stampede at a Black Friday deal at a Long Island, New York store.

Jdimytai Damour lost his life on November 28, 2008 after he was crushed after being trampled by shoppers looking for deals after Thanksgiving.

OSHA cited Wal-Mart for inadequate crowd control at the Long Island store. Wal-Mart was slapped with a small $7,000 fine. Sadly, that is about how much the store makes in about 18 seconds.

The crowd was unruly and numerous. It was estimated that 2,000 people showed up for the sales that day. They broke down the doors to the store and trampled Damour. Eleven others were injured in the stampede.

Wal-Mart spokeswoman Daphne Moore said that the company disagrees with the citation.

“There is no OSHA retail industry guidance that would have alerted us to this type of unforeseeable hazard. We expect to resolve this matter in a constructive manner that fosters the safety and well being of our associates,” said Moore.

The citation is nothing more than a blemish to Wal-Mart’s record. $7,000 is a tiny, insignificant fine when compared to the company’s earnings (which were $3 billion in the past quarter). With the news about the stampede, and Wal-Mart facing this public relations nightmare, the store agreed to pay somewhere around $2 million to improve safety at New York stores. Wal-Mart also agreed to start a $400,000 fund for those injured in the stampede.

Wal-Mart has also agreed to begin improving security at events such as post Thanksgiving Day sales.

I personally do not feel as though the citation from OSHA was enough. However, I do understand that it was the maximum fine that they could rule. I also don’t like that Wal-Mart isn’t just keeping its spokes “mouth” shut regarding the fine. I don’t honestly feel that anyone cares that the company doesn’t agree with the fine.

I know that Wal-Mart is facing a public relations nightmare at this point. There has been so much negative publicity surrounding the company and its lack of crowd management, however, it is not the only entity to blame for this situation.

What about the thousands of people who were so careless that they trampled a man to death and injured eleven others, one of whom was pregnant?

The attorney general was considering a criminal case against Wal-Mart, but not even citing those people who were at the store is ok? To me, that doesn’t make a lot of sense. If they can figure out who is using credit cards at a cash register with video cameras, they can see who is entering the store too.