By Andrew Hackmack
On Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, 34-year-old Jdimytai Damour was killed when customers rushed into the Valley Stream store shortly after 5 a.m. He was knocked to the ground and trampled by a crowd of about 2,000 people.
OSHA, following a months-long investigation, has determined that Wal-Mart failed to provide reasonable crowd control measures. This created an extremely dangerous situation for employees, the report stated.
The agency also noted that some workers were not properly trained for the jobs they were given on Black Friday. Ted Fitzgerald, a spokesman for OSHA, said that several employees responsible for crowd control did not have adequate training. He could not specify if Damour, who was hired through a temporary agency, was one of them.
OSHA issued Wal-Mart a "serious" violation, for exposing its employees to the hazard of being crushed by a crowd. Such citations are issued when OSHA determines that the risk of death or serious injury in an incident was high. "It's serious if the situation cited poses a hazard to employee safety or health," Fitzgerald said. "This case was determined to meet that criteria."
Tony Ciuffo, director of OSHA's Long Island region, said the agency's investigation of Wal-Mart began the day of the incident. He described what unfolded as unusual, but not unforeseeable. "The store should have recognized, based on prior 'Blitz Friday' experiences, the need to implement effective crowd management to protect its employees," Ciuffo said.
Daphne Moore Davis, a Wal-Mart spokeswoman, said the company disagrees with the issuance of the citation. "There is no OSHA or retail industry guidance that would have alerted us to this type of unforeseeable incident," she said. "We expect to resolve this matter in a constructive manner that fosters the safety and well-being of our associates.
"We have never had a tragedy like this occur in our stores, and we never want it to happen again," Davis added. "The safety of our associates is of the highest importance to our company."
OSHA is recommending that Wal-Mart be given the maximum $7,000 fine. Fitzgerald said that in addition to the fine, the company would be expected to come up with a plan to ensure that the hazard is remedied. "OSHA is looking for corrective action," he said.
Wal-Mart has 15 days to respond to the violation. Fitzgerald said that representatives of Wal-Mart and the Long Island office of OSHA are expected meet next week to explore a settlement.
Wal-Mart escaped criminal prosecution when Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice announced a deal last month with the retail chain. The store will be under the watch of two independent security monitors during its next three Black Friday sales events. Wal-Mart will also pay into a victims' compensation fund and make $1.5 million in contributions to county youth programs. The deal does not protect Wal-Mart from any civil suits.
Comments about this story? AHackmack@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 265.
