Why a Black Friday Stampede Won't Happen

(TheStreet) --There isn't a Black Friday discount deep enough to cost a consumer or store employee his or her life, which is what retailers and regulators are trying to make clear this year. After Jdimytai Damour, a 34-year-old temporary employee at a Wal-Mart WMT in Valley Stream, N.Y., died from asphyxiation when a crowd trampled him on Black Friday in 2008, store safety got a strong second look. The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration fined Wal-Mart $7,000 for the incident -- a decision Wal-Mart is appealing -- and created a crowd-control fact sheet for retailers to prevent more deaths. OSHA's fact sheet recommends that stores train security personnel or police officers on-site, erect barricades or rope lines for pedestrians, control crowds in advance of customers' arrival, place the customers' line away from the entrance of the store, put emergency plans in place should something go awry, and have security personnel or customer-service representatives explain entry procedures to shoppers. This year, OSHA sent its fact sheet directly to the chief executives of Wal-Mart, Target TGT, Macy's M, JCPenney JCP, Sears SHLD, Kohl's KSS, TJX TJX, Costco COST, Best Buy BBY, BJ's BJ Wholesale Club, Toys R Us, IKEA and Dillard's DDS as a friendly reminder that they are still responsible for employees' general safety on the biggest shopping day of the year. "Crowd-related injuries during special retail sales and promotional events have increased during recent years," Dr. David Michaels, assistant secretary for OSHA, said in a statement. "Many of these incidents can be prevented by adopting a crowd-management plan, and this fact sheet provides retail employers with guidelines for avoiding injuries during the holiday shopping season." Continue reading the article.