Sept. 10, 2020

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited Smithfield Foods in Sioux Falls for failing to protect employees from COVID-19.

OSHA is proposing a penalty of $13,494, which is the maximum allowed by law, for what it says is one violation of the general duty clause for failing to provide a workplace free from recognized hazards that can cause death or serious harm.

At least 1,294 Smithfield employees contracted the virus, OSHA said, and four died in the spring of 2020.

“Employers must quickly implement appropriate measures to protect their workers’ safety and health,” OSHA Sioux Falls area director Sheila Stanley said in a statement. “Employers must meet their obligations and take the necessary actions to prevent the spread of coronavirus at their worksite.”

OSHA guidance details proactive measures employers can take to protect workers from the coronavirus, such as social distancing measures and the use of physical barriers, face shields and face coverings when employees are unable to physically distance at least 6 feet from each other. OSHA guidance also advises that employers should provide safety and health information through training, visual aids and other means to communicate important safety warnings in a language their workers understand.

Smithfield has 15 business days after receiving the citation and penalty to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA’s area director or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.

In a statement, the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union, which represents 1.3 million workers in meatpacking plants and businesses condemned the fine as insufficient, calling it insulting and a “slap on the wrist” that won’t help those infected or prevent future worker deaths.

“OSHA has been asleep at the switch throughout this pandemic and this is just the latest example of the agency failing to do their job and take responsibility for worker safety. If we truly care about protecting workers and our nation’s food supply during this pandemic, the federal government must take action, beginning with an enforceable national safety standard, increased access to PPE and COVID-19 testing, and rigorous proactive inspections,” UFCW International president Marc Perrone said.

“Smithfield is a multi-billion-dollar corporation that failed to protect its workers, with multiple deaths and more than a thousand infections on their watch. This response by OSHA confirms that the company will not face any real consequences. The failure by the Trump Administration to hold Smithfield accountable makes clear that this White House cares more about industry profits than protecting America’s essential workers. Our country’s meatpacking workers, and the millions of American they serve, deserve and expect better from those sworn to protect us.”

Smithfield shut down its Sioux Falls plan in mid-April and reopened in May after installing a number of enhanced safety measures.

Companywide, it reported spending $350 million in the second quarter on COVID-related expenses.

That included $125 million in facility-related costs, including personal protective equipment, hand-sanitizing stations, mass thermal-scanning systems and physical barriers.

The company recently took out building permits for at least $200,000 for two new buildings in Sioux Falls to allow space to screen employees for COVID-19.

Smithfield plans to contest OSHA citation, calling it ‘wholly without merit’