OSHA Fines

OSHA Fines Georgia Poultry Processor
OSHA has proposed 22 safety and health violations with fines of $73,275 against a Georgia poultry farm.
A January inspection of the company's processing plant in Gainesville, Georgia, has resulted in the agency proposing two repeat violations with $27,500 in proposed penalties, 18 serious violations with $45,775 in proposed penalties, and two other-than-serious violations with no monetary penalties.
The two repeat violations are for the company's failure to provide standard guardrails for open-sided platforms, and using flexible cords and cables as a substitute for fixed wiring. OSHA issues repeat violations when it finds, following an initial violation, a substantially similar violation of any standard, regulation, rule, or order at any other of a company's facilities in federal enforcement states.
Serious violations alleged include the company's failure to annually train employees on hazards related to bloodborne pathogens and to make the Hepatitis B vaccine available to employees exposed to bloodborne pathogens. According to OSHA, safety training was not provided to all employees, exit routes were obstructed, and workers were exposed to noise and electrical hazards. The company failed to provide personal safety equipment and did not have machine guards on equipment.
The two other-than-serious citations were for the company's failure to certify that all hazards of the permit required confined space had been eliminated, bloodborne pathogen training had been conducted and employees who declined the Hepatitis B vaccine had signed a declination form.