MICHAEL ARAM INC

According to U.S. Department of Labor enforcement records, MICHAEL ARAM INC — a home furnishing merchant wholesalers facility located at 2102 83RD ST, NORTH BERGEN, NJ 07047 — was the subject of a formal OSHA inspection that resulted in 6 citation(s) and cumulative proposed penalties of $21,000.00. The inspection case was opened on 2018-12-20.

DOL records document workplace safety violations warranting formal citation under the OSH Act. While classified at the standard enforcement level, all OSHA citations require corrective action and may indicate areas where workplace safety programs should be strengthened.

BLS Injury Data: According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (2022), this industry sector has an occupational injury rate of 2.6 per 100 full-time workers — near the national average of 2.7. The sector fatality rate is 4.4 per 100,000 workers.

Industry Benchmark: The total penalty of $21,000.00 is more than 4.0× the national average of $5,185.75 for facilities in the Wholesale sector (NAICS 423220). This sector encompasses 30,869 inspected facilities nationwide with aggregate penalties totaling $160.1M.

State Context: Within NJ, this facility's penalty places it at the 97th percentile among 81,999 inspected facilities. The statewide average penalty is $3,616.41.

Citation Analysis: The inspection produced 6 citations spanning 5 distinct OSHA regulatory standards. The citation breakdown includes: 5 serious — A workplace hazard that could cause death or serious physical harm exists, and the employer knew or should have known about the condition. 1 other-than-serious — The violation has a direct relationship to job safety and health but is unlikely to cause death or serious physical harm.

Enforcement Timeline: Citations were issued beginning May 21, 2018 with the latest abatement deadline set for Date Not Recorded. Of the 6 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 $21,000.00 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 $3,500.00 falls within the standard penalty range.

The inspection of Michael Aram Inc.’s North Bergen facility revealed a constellation of serious safety deficiencies that extended beyond isolated lapses, pointing toward a systemic failure in basic hazard recognition and equipment maintenance. The most significant financial and safety risk stemmed from 1910.212(a)(1) violations, where inadequate machine guarding exposed workers to catastrophic amputation or crush injuries. This lack of physical protection was compounded by a dual-pronged failure in powered industrial truck (PIT) safety; management neither ensured operators were properly trained nor removed defective equipment from service. In a warehouse