by peter e. bortner
Federal authorities are investigating allegedly poor working conditions at a nonprofit organization's workshop in Pottsville.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has started a probe of Avenues' workshop at 1755 W. Market St., Mark Stelmack, area director for the Wilkes-Barre Area Office, said Monday.
"We notify the employer a complaint has been filed," Stelmack said. "We ask that they do an internal investigation and give us a response."
Maria A. Herne, the former employee on the vocational training staff who made the complaint to OSHA, told the agency the facilities are "unsanitary, inadequate and outdated" for both workers and clients.
"I had the misfortune of working there for several months and was disgusted and appalled by the working conditions," Herne said in an email to The Republican-Herald.
Formerly known as United Cerebral Palsy, Avenues started its work in 1952. Its mission is to provide employment and other opportunities for people with disabilities to help them to reach their full potential. It operates programs for children as well as adults.
Stelmack said the complaint, which the agency received Friday, is a nonformal one, meaning it was not signed by a current employee.
"No one has been assigned to inspect it," Stelmack said of the Avenues workshop.
Avenues has a week to respond to the complaint, according to Stelmack, who said he had not yet heard from the agency. Stelmack said he will wait for Avenues' response before deciding what further action to take in the case.
Avenues will not ignore the matter, Executive Director Peter J. Keitsock said Tuesday.
"We received it and we're complying," Keitsock said of the complaint. "We'll be responding to OSHA."
In her complaint to OSHA, Herne listed several specific allegations of what she believes are problems at the workshop.
Those problems, according to Herne, include:
- "Doors to the building are not accessible to those in wheelchairs."
- "There is no security system or any security personnel."
- "There are no designated separate waste receptacles to dispose of soiled latex gloves, disposable briefs, diapers and wipes."
- "Laundry is all thrown together in the same hamper."
- "Chemicals and other hazardous materials ... are left out unlocked in the garage workshop bathrooms."
- "The elevator is inadequate for wheelchairs and not secure."