Washington Cedar & Supply Co. v. Department of Labor

**Washington Cedar & Supply Co. v. Department of Labor** Washington Cedar & Supply Company challenged a citation from the Department of Labor for workplace safety violations related to fall protection. The company argued that employee misconduct, not company negligence, caused the safety problems. They claimed the violations should be dismissed or reduced because workers acted improperly despite company policies. The court disagreed and sided with the Department of Labor. The judges found that Washington Cedar failed to prove their employees' actions were truly unpreventable misconduct. The court also upheld the Department's classification of this as a "repeat serious violation," meaning the company had similar safety problems before. **Why This Matters for Workers:** This ruling reinforces that employers cannot simply blame workers to escape responsibility for safety violations. Companies must do more than just have safety policies on paper—they need to actively enforce them and create truly safe working conditions. When employers have repeated safety violations, courts will hold them to higher standards. Workers can take some comfort knowing that regulatory agencies and courts take workplace safety seriously, especially when companies have a history of putting employees at risk through inadequate fall protection and other safety measures.