MERRITT BROS. LUMBER COMPANY, INC.

According to U.S. Department of Labor enforcement records, MERRITT BROS. LUMBER COMPANY, INC. — a all other miscellaneous wood product manufacturing facility located at 5400 E HIGHWAY 54, ATHOL, ID 83801 — was the subject of a formal OSHA inspection that resulted in 21 citation(s) and cumulative proposed penalties of $151,918.00. The inspection case was opened on 2018-02-13.

Cumulative penalties significantly exceed the national median for OSHA enforcement actions. The penalty amount suggests multiple high-gravity citations, indicating conditions that presented a substantial probability of death or serious physical harm to employees.

BLS Injury Data: According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (2022), this industry sector has an occupational injury rate of 3.3 per 100 full-time workers — 22% above the national average of 2.7. The sector fatality rate is 2.3 per 100,000 workers.

Industry Benchmark: The total penalty of $151,918.00 is more than 18.1× the national average of $8,414.32 for facilities in the Manufacturing sector (NAICS 321999). This sector encompasses 52,095 inspected facilities nationwide with aggregate penalties totaling $438.3M.

State Context: Within ID, this facility's penalty places it at the 100th percentile among 11,860 inspected facilities. The statewide average penalty is $2,249.74.

Citation Analysis: The inspection produced 21 citations spanning 8 distinct OSHA regulatory standards. The citation breakdown includes: 15 serious — A workplace hazard that could cause death or serious physical harm exists, and the employer knew or should have known about the condition.

Enforcement Timeline: Citations were issued beginning July 26, 2018 with the latest abatement deadline set for September 12, 2018. Of the 21 total citations, 0 (0%) have been marked as abated in DOL records, which may indicate ongoing compliance gaps requiring further regulatory attention.

Penalty Assessment: The cumulative penalty of $151,918.00 reflects OSHA's gravity-based penalty calculation methodology, which considers the severity of potential injury, the probability of occurrence, the employer's size, good faith, and violation history. The per-citation average of $7,234.19 falls within the standard penalty range.

The enforcement profile for Merritt Bros. Lumber Company, Inc. following the 2018 inspection reveals a profound breakdown in fundamental safety management systems within a high-hazard wood products environment. The assessment of over $150,000 in penalties across 21 citations indicates a severity level far exceeding the industry average for NAICS 321999, signaling that OSHA identified pervasive, high-gravity hazards rather than isolated lapses. The citation pattern centers on "The Fatal Five" of sawmill operations: lockout/tagout (LOTO) failures (1910.147), inadequate machine guarding (1910.212), and specialized sawmill safety requirements (1910.265). The recurrence of gravity-10 ratings across multiple standards, particularly regarding 1910.212 and 1910.265, suggests that workers were routinely exposed to catastrophic amputation and crushing risks from unguarded mechanical power transmission apparatus and conveyor systems. Furthermore, the presence of serious violations involving hot work (1910.252) and electrical safety (1910.303) indicates a lack of administrative oversight in fire prevention and infrastructure maintenance. These findings point toward a systemic failure to implement a functional Injury and Illness Prevention Program (IIPP). For legal and compliance professionals, this record demonstrates a high-risk liability profile where the absence of basic housekeeping (1910.22) and hazard communication (1910.1200) serves as a leading indicator of a broader culture of non-compliance that significantly increased the probability of a multi-causal industrial accident.