Adidas fined nearly $400,000 for failing to correct fall hazards

The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration said Friday it had hit global shoemaker Addidas America Inc. with additional penalties for failing to correct previously identified fall hazards at one of its manufacturing facilities.

OSHA proposed new penalties of $396,377 after a January inspection of the company’s Chester, N.Y., facility found that Adidas failed to provide the agency with required evidence that it installed guardrails or similar protections to keep employees safe while he worked on the mezzanine.

Adidas was cited in March 2022 after its initial inspection in 2021 found that the absence of handrails and an unsafe ladder exposed workers to falls. OSHA initially proposed penalties of $17,403.

OSHA said Adidas initially agreed to correct the hazards but had not done so by the time of the follow-up inspection in January.

Adidas has 15 working days to appeal the latest proposed penalties.