Following an inspection on August 7th, 2023, the U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) proposed fines of $400,000 on the Case Farms broiler processing plant in Winesburg, OH. The inspection was carried out under the Severe Violator Enforcement program based on a history of 450 citations since 1988 in plants operated by the company in North Carolina and Ohio. Major areas of concern included lack of machine guarding, trip-and-fall hazards, failure to use lockout procedures and inadequate training of workers. Case Farms employs 3,500 workers nationwide, including 575 at the Winesburg facility with a throughput of 150,000 birds per day.
The categorization of Case Farms as a Severe Violator is in conflict with a number of awards received by the company for workplace safety. The Joint Industry Safety and Health Council (JISHC) recognized six facilities including two processing plants and four hatcheries for “outstanding performance in implementing innovative and effective employee safety and health programs”. Case Farms received the honors at the 2023 National Safety Conference for the poultry industry in mid-August.
Tyler Parlier, Regional Safety Manager for Case Farms, stated, “Safety is intertwined with everything we do at Case Farms, every location and every team member to be recognized for our safe working practices is simply outstanding. Several of our locations have received awards in safety for many consecutive years, proving that we are committed to working safely.” The Winesburg plant that was the subject of OSHA fines and previous violations received the Award of Honor.
Recognition by the JISHC is based on Total Recordable Incident Rate, Days Away, and restricted or transferred employees, all in compliance with Occupational Safety and Health Administration safety metrics.
The concurrent awards to Case Farms for safety and the fines imposed by OSHA appear to be in conflict. An explanation either by the Company or the Federal agency is indicated.