it has pursued so far related to the coronavirus. Workers filed more than 8,000 complaints against their employers alleging hazards. The citation issued this week is the most high profile yet and the first to hit the meatpacking industry, which has lost more than 100 workers to COVID-19, according to the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union.
Specifically, OSHA said Smithfield “did not develop or implement timely and effective measures to mitigate exposures” to the coronavirus. Between March 22 and June 16, an estimated 1,294 workers from the plant tested positive for the virus, the citation said. In addition to the four who died, another 39 were hospitalized.
Many companies appear to have fretted more about the meat supply than the safety of their workers. Smithfield Foods’ chief executive, Kenneth Sullivan, sent a letter to Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts in March calling social distancing “Some workplace safety experts said they were disappointed in how small the Smithfield fine was and how long it took the agency to issue it. OSHA has six months from the date of an alleged hazard to issue a fine and often uses the bulk of that time to build its case.
We see you SmithfieldFoods ... TakeCareofypurWorkers!!!!! CovidTesting cc: StewartHaasRcng