The U.S. Department of Labor announced that it entered into a settlement agreement with Adidas America Inc. that requires the company to pay $235,000 in fines related to fall hazards and unsafe ladder conditions.
The agreement comes after the department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) conducted a 2024 follow-up inspection at an Adidas warehouse in upstate New York. The agency initially cited hazards in 2021 during an inspection that found missing guardrails and an unsafe ladder.
Inspectors returned in 2024 to find that Adidas had not corrected the hazards and found an additional unsafe ladder violation.
The settlement requires Adidas to implement enhanced abatement measures at its facilities in New York, New Jersey and Puerto Rico, including adopting a comprehensive Safety and Health Management program, retraining employees on fall hazards, assessing and auditing potential fall hazards at each facility and discontinuing use of overhead storage in the facilities.
Adidas Media Relations Manager Sophie LeRoux told Manufacturing.net that the company has taken "immediate action" to ensure specific retail locations and off-storage facilities meet OSHA requirements.
The company added that "no injuries or incidents necessitated these measures."
Adidas America Inc. is a subsidiary of Adidas AG, an athletic apparel and footwear corporation headquartered in Herzogenaurach, Bavaria, Germany.
