Hurley Corporation Fined $60,000 For Health And Safety Violation
Ministry of Labour
Toronto, ON - Hurley Corporation, a Toronto company that provides janitorial services, was fined $60,000 on February 17, 2011, for violating the Occupational Health and Safety Act by improperly storing chemicals.
On March 6, 2009, a Hurley worker was attempting to clean the floor at Humber College's Etobicoke campus. The worker asked a supervisor to provide floor cleaner. The supervisor poured a floor cleaning chemical from a properly labeled commercial container into a water bottle and left the bottle on a table in the worker's area. There were no markings on the bottle to identify it as floor cleaner. The worker found the bottle, assumed it was filled with water, and drank from it. The worker felt a burning stomach, coughed up blood, vomited and briefly lost consciousness. The worker was hospitalized but released with no lasting effects from the chemical.
Hurley Corporation pleaded guilty to failing to ensure that the floor cleaner was transferred into a container with a proper workplace label.
The fine was imposed by Justice of the Peace Kevin Madigan. In addition to the fine, the court imposed a 25-per-cent victim fine surcharge, as required by the Provincial Offences Act. The surcharge is credited to a special provincial government fund to assist victims of crime.
Court Information at a Glance
Location: Ontario Court of Justice
70 Centre St.
Toronto, ON
Judge: Justice of the Peace Kevin Madigan
Date of Sentencing: February 17, 2011
Defendants: Hurley Corporation
Matter: Occupational Health and Safety
Conviction: Ontario Regulation 860, Section 10(1)