The United States Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has

cited Case Farms Processing, Inc. for three safety and health violations, comprised of two repeat

and one other than serious violations. They come in response to an inspection of a worksite in

Winesburg, OH in October of 2015. This inspection was initiated in response to a referral from

another government agency. The citations are for violations relating to unreported workplace

illnesses, including a failure to: complete an OSHA 301 form for each recordable injury or

illness; record an injury or illness within seven calendar days of occurrence; or provide requested

records within four business hours. The referral brought into question record-keeping practices

and employee exposure to campylobacter bacteria, which can be contracted by humans who

touch animal feces; this bacteria can lead to gastrointestinal infection. These violations carry

proposed penalties of $23,100.

“Case Farms has a long track record of failing to comply with federal workplace safety standards

and needs to follow-through on its commitment to make improvements to equipment, procedures

and training to protect its workers on the job,” said Deborah Zubaty, OSHA’s area director in

Columbus. “OSHA will remain vigilant until the company keeps its workers safe by making

needed improvements to equipment, procedures and training.”

This incident is a great reminder of how important record-keeping is in your occupational safety

and health plans. Too often, we go in to work with clients who have great policies and

procedures in place to protect their employees from injury and illness, however they are lacking

on the back-end. Unfortunately, improper record keeping can still lead to serious issues with

OSHA.

If you have any questions about your occupational safety and health policies and procedures,

please contact us. If you have anything to add about this inspection, please leave a comment.