Car wash operator failed to protect workers, feds say after manager was stabbed
After a customer repeatedly stabbed an assistant store manager, federal labor officials accused the operator of several car wash, oil change and convenience store locations in Louisiana of failing to protect workers from violence.
Now Benny’s Car Wash & Oil Change, which runs the B-Quik gas station in Baton Rouge where the manager was stabbed in February, faces a $17,403 fine, according to an Aug. 11 Department of Labor news release.
The company was cited by the department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration after an investigation into the stabbing revealed a number of violent instances took place at the Greenwell Springs Road location within the past year, the release says.
Additionally, the company is accused of not reporting the manager’s hospitalization following the attack until 15 days later, which is in violation of federal workplace safety law, according to federal safety inspectors.
Benny’s declined a request for comment from McClatchy News over the phone.
On Feb. 6, a customer armed with a knife entered the B-Quik location and walked behind the counter where the assistant manager was and started stabbing him, according to the Labor Department. Afterward, the manager was taken to a nearby hospital and released.
“Workplace violence remains a leading cause of occupational fatalities in the U.S.,” OSHA Baton Rouge Director Roderic Chube said in a statement.
The customer, Vernell Parker, 23, of Baton Rouge, was charged with attempted murder as a result of the attack, which ensued when the manager tried stopping him from going behind the counter, WAFB reported.
Benny’s has 15 days after receiving a notice of the citations and penalties to pay the fine, contest the findings or request an informal conference with Chube, according to the Labor Department.
The company is a family-owned business established in 1951 and runs nine Baton Rouge car wash, oil change, fueling and convenience store locations.
The Labor Department says that between 2016 and 2020, more than 25,000 injuries in the workplace proved fatal, and more than 3,600 were a result of intentional harm.
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