Cal/OSHA Issues $300K Fine After Amputation at Food PlantCal/OSHA Issues $300K Fine After Amputation at Food Plant

April 16, 2019

3 Min Read
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Pasta and baked goods manufacturer and distributor JSL Foods Inc. and staffing firm Priority Workforce Inc. were each fined over $300,000 and issued several citations after a temporary worker had two fingers amputated while performing cleaning work on a piece of machinery at JSL Foods’ Los Angeles production plant. 

In October 2018, a Priority Workforce employee was cleaning a dough rolling machine when his left hand was pulled into the equipment. He lost two of his fingers. An investigation by Cal/OSHA revealed that JSL Foods did not adequately guard the machine to prevent fingers from accessing pinch points. The company also failed to de-energize and lock out the equipment during cleaning. 

“Lockout/tagout procedures are required to protect employees who maintain powered equipment with movable parts,” Juliann Sum, chief of Cal/OSHA, said in a Cal/OSHA press release Tuesday. “Employers must ensure that the procedures are in place and are followed.”

JSL Foods was fined $276,435 for three serious violations for failing to establish, implement, and maintain an effective Injury and Illness Prevention Program, failing to provide effective training to workers, and neglecting to ensure that equipment had proper guards. Among the three serious violations issued, Cal/OSHA cited the firm for one willful repeat serious violation and one willful repeat serious accident-related violation for not following lockout/tagout procedures. The company was cited two times in 2015 for similar safety lapses. 

A $29,250 fine was issued to Priority Workforce for three serious violations for neglecting to establish, implement, and maintain an effective Injury and Illness Prevention Program, failing to ensure workers were properly trained, and not ensuring that machinery was properly guarded. 

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