Remember the Wal-Mart temporary employee that was sent to open the doors at the Long Island, New York and was crushed to death by 2,000 Wal-Mart shoppers? The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has investigated the case and they found that Wal-Mart erred that fateful morning and because of that, finned one of the world’s most richest corporations a whole $7,000.

From the Los Angeles Times:

The death of a temporary employee who was crushed in a stampede of post-Thanksgiving shoppers at a Wal-Mart store could have been prevented, federal officials said Tuesday as they proposed fining the world’s largest retailer $7,000 — as much as it makes in about 18 seconds.

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration announced it was citing Wal-Mart Stores Inc. for inadequate crowd management after the Nov. 28 death of Jdimytai Damour at a Long Island store.

The 6-foot-5, 270-pound Damour had been on the job about a week when a crowd estimated at 2,000 broke down the store’s doors in search of predawn bargains, trapping him in a vestibule. Damour, 34, died of asphyxiation. Eleven other people, including a pregnant woman, were injured.

My guess is that was the very first time anyone from OSHA ever stepped foot in a Wal-Mart store. Except of course to buy something. I’ve worked in industrial production environments that utilized lots of high-speed, automated equipment.  You know how many OSHA inspectors I’ve seen?

None.

Even after accidents where workers had been injured, some severely. I remember one incident where a worker had gotten the tip of his thumb cut off when he reached inside a book binder and attempted to clear a jam. The machine had safety interlocks on all of the access doors that stopped the machine from operating if and when a door was opened, but all of those interlocks had been deactivated. I can remember being tasked with reengaging every safety interlock, not only on that machine, but every other machine in the plant the day following that accident. Management was concerned that someone from OSHA would come to the facility and investigate.

To the best of my knowledge, nobody from OSHA ever came.

To me OHSA inspectors have always been mythical creatures, a lot like unicorns or leprechauns. I’ve heard stories of their existence, but I have never seen any.