JBS USA has agreed to pay a $14,502 fine and implement a safety program to help prevent future outbreaks of infectious disease among its workers.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration announced May 27 that the fine would be assessed against JBS subsidiaries Swift Beef Co. and JBS Green Bay Inc. In addition, a team of company representatives and third-party experts, including some recommended by OSHA and by the United Food and Commercial Workers Union, will develop an infectious-disease plan to protect workers at the seven JBS plants in the U.S. The team will propose measures regarding “engineering, administrative, and work practice controls, including ventilation, employee and visitor screening protocols, and cleaning,” OSHA said in a release.
JBS plants in Greeley, Colo., and Green Bay, Wis., were shuttered in the spring of 2020 due to COVID outbreaks. Between the two plants, 640 workers contracted COVID and seven died.
“Terrible tragedies occurred at JBS facilities in Greeley and Green Bay, and we will ensure that this agreement is in full force to prevent a mass outbreak from happening again,” an OSHA official said in the statement.
