Star Laundry, located in 421 East 16th Street, in Paterson, was fined $164,700 yesterday by the Department of Labor, for more than 30 safety violations.

Officials of the department received complaints from employees — one employee complained about not being let out during an emergency, “company would not allow workers to leave the building during an emergency,” read a written statement from Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration, an arm of the Department of Labor.

After receiving complaints inspectors went to the shop and found “electrical hazards…obstructed and improperly marked exit route”, among others. One violation included employees having to cross the street to transport laundry, “allowing employees to potentially be struck by traffic while transporting laundry bins from one building to another while crossing a public street”. The company that operates the site, Brite Services Inc, owns buildings on both sides of the street.

Brite Services, the parent company for Star Laundry, has 15 days to dispute the findings or pay the fines.