OZARK EMPIRE DISTRIBUTORS

According to U.S. Department of Labor enforcement records, OZARK EMPIRE DISTRIBUTORS — a commercial bakeries facility located at 2301 S 1ST ST, ROGERS, AR 72758 — was the subject of a formal OSHA inspection that resulted in 6 citation(s) and cumulative proposed penalties of $25,826.00. The inspection case was opened on 2019-10-09.

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 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 $25,826.00 is more than 3.0× the national average of $8,527.19 for facilities in the Manufacturing sector (NAICS 311812). This sector encompasses 24,420 inspected facilities nationwide with aggregate penalties totaling $208.2M.

State Context: Within AR, this facility's penalty places it at the 99th percentile among 15,726 inspected facilities. The statewide average penalty is $2,714.64.

Citation Analysis: The inspection produced 6 citations spanning 6 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 20, 2015 with the latest abatement deadline set for May 1, 2020. 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 $25,826.00 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 $4,304.33 falls within the standard penalty range.

The enforcement profile for Ozark Empire Distributors reveals a high-risk operational environment where fundamental mechanical safeguards and energy control protocols were systematically neglected. The gravity ratings and penalty structure, particularly the $9,446 assessment for 1910.28(b)(1)(i), underscore a critical failure in fall protection management, which represents a significant departure from standard safety expectations in the commercial baking industry (NAICS 311812). The convergence of violations under 1910.147 (Lockout/Tagout) and 1910.212 (General Machine Guarding) points to a systemic breakdown in protecting workers from point-of-operation hazards and unexpected machine startups. In a high-speed production setting, these deficiencies suggest that employees were routinely exposed to amputation risks and crushing injuries during both production and maintenance cycles. Furthermore, the inclusion of 1910.263(f)(3) specifically targets bakery equipment hazards, indicating that the employer failed to implement industry-specific engineering controls necessary for safe dough-handling operations. The presence of a Bloodborne Pathogen violation (1910.1030) further implies a lack of administrative preparedness for workplace injuries, suggesting that the facility lacked the necessary medical surveillance and training infrastructure to support its workforce. Collectively, these citations reflect a reactive safety culture where physical hazards were left unmitigated until federal intervention.