Text For Citation: 01 Item/Group: 001 Hazard:

OSH ACT of 1970 Section 5(a)(1) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act: The employer did not furnish employment and a place of employment which were free from recognized hazards that were causing or likely to cause death or serious physical harm to employees, in that employees were not protected from the hazard of contracting the SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2), the virus that causes COVID-19 disease. On or about September 16, 2021, and continuing thereafter, employees working throughout the facility were exposed to the hazard of contracting COVID-19. The employer did not enforce measures to help limit the spread of COVID-19 even after employees were exposed to the virus, including but not limited to, physical distancing, wearing of face coverings, notifying employees of close contacts with employees who had COVID-19, limiting overlapping shifts, and restricting the interchange of individuals between work teams. Additionally, after a COVID-19 outbreak began at the facility, the employer did not instruct employees with COVID-19 symptoms to stay home from work or leave work if they experienced symptoms and did not ensure frequent and regular cleaning of work areas after employees in those areas became ill with COVID-19. Flexi-Line: Even after the outbreak began at the facility, employees working in groups of two, on the glove-pulling platforms were not able to distance and did not wear face coverings consistently. Pedestal fans on these platforms increased the potential transmission between the two employees. Employees in these sets of two were frequently swapped out, exposing these employees to a larger number of employees who potentially had COVID-19. Packing Line: The two work teams on the Packing Line work four days per week and were required to work together on two common days each week, exposing the work teams to a larger number of employees who potentially had COVID-19. Employees were not required to wear masks and were not physically distancing. The employer did not ensure that employees used physical distancing and face coverings while in breakrooms. Employees were not informed of close contacts who tested positive for COVID-19 and therefore were not required to leave the workplace and quarantine. Employees were not required to report COVID-19 symptoms to management and continued to work in close contact with other employees after experiencing symptoms exposing additional employees. These conditions exposed employees to the hazard of contracting COVID-19 from other employees in the facility. Between September 16, 2021, and January 17, 2022, 43 employees tested COVID-19 positive and lost approximately 7 to 14 days.