A poultry processing company is facing fines of $861,500 for 55 violations of safety standards.
Announcing the penalty, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) said that North Carolina-based Case Farms Processing Inc. was aware of the dangers at its Ohio plant but continued to expose employees to serious and potentially fatal injuries.
It claimed that the company had a “long history of violating federal worker safety and health standards” which exposed employees at its facility to the dangers of amputation, electrocution and hazardous falls.
An inspection earlier this year also uncovered a lack of personal protective equipment and emergency eye-wash stations, and improperly stored oxygen cylinders.
As a result of its findings, OSHA has cited the company for two willful, 20 repeat, 30 serious and three other-than-serious safety and health violations. In addition to proposing penalties totaling $861,500, the agency added the company to its Severe Violator Enforcement Program.
Dr. David Michaels, assistant secretary of labor for occupational safety and health, described Case Farms as “an outrageously dangerous place to work” and noted that in the past 25 years the company has been cited for more than 350 safety and health violations.
“Despite committing to OSHA that it would eliminate serious hazards, Case Farms continues to endanger the safety and health of its workers. This simply must stop,” Michaels said.
