The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) announced on Nov. 15 that it had reached a settlement with Smithfield Packaged Meats Corp., the nation's largest pork processor, following an Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) inspection that led to an OSHA citation. We've gathered articles on the news from SHRM Online and other outlets.
Company Will Implement Infectious Disease Preparedness Plan
Smithfield agreed to assemble a team of company and third-party experts to develop an infectious disease preparedness plan that the company will implement at all its processing facilities nationwide. Smithfield must evaluate work areas where employees congregate to minimize employees' potential exposure to infectious diseases.
(DOL)
OSHA's Citation
OSHA issued its first citation against a meatpacking plant last year for failing to protect workers against the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19. The Smithfield Packaged Meats Corp. in Sioux Falls, S.D., was cited after more than a thousand workers became ill and four died.
House Subcommittee: Nearly 60,000 Meatpacking Workers Got COVID-19
Meatpacking companies underestimated the number of workers who got COVID-19 last year, according to an investigation by the U.S. House of Representatives Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis. The figure was at least 59,000 workers last year, including 269 deaths, the subcommittee said.
(SHRM Online)
OSHA Cited Employer for COVID-19 Safety Violations After Worker's Death
A national auto insurance company is facing $23,406 in proposed penalties after investigators found that a Colorado branch ignored pandemic-related safety rules and "needlessly exposed" employees to co-workers with COVID-19 symptoms, according to OSHA. OSHA initiated an investigation on April 21 after receiving a complaint about unsafe working conditions and an employee's COVID-19-related death. The company did not respond to a request for comment.
DOL Finds Midwest Trailer Sales Company Failed to Prevent COVID-19 Spread
The DOL found that Amston Supply Inc., operating as Amston Trailer Sales in Caledonia, Wis., failed to protect workers from coronavirus' dangers, the department announced Oct. 21. OSHA inspected the facility on May 18 and found that a 49-year-old dispatcher died from the virus on April 27 and that 11 out of 38 Amston employees tested positive for COVID-19 from April 12 to May 18. OSHA determined the company let workers congregate closely and without face coverings in offices, the parts and services department, maintenance areas, and kitchen, despite a company policy requiring employees to screen, wear masks and maintain social distancing when possible to prevent infection. "Simply having a policy is not enough," said OSHA Area Director Christine Zortman in Milwaukee.
(DOL)