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Law360 (September 8, 2020, 8:27 PM EDT) -- A Sutter Health network in the Bay Area and a Grocery Outlet Bargain Market in Santa Clara were among 11 California employers cited for not adequately protecting employees from COVID-19 exposure, according to the Golden State's Division of Occupational Safety and Health.
Cal/OSHA doled out the citations following inspections of industries in which workers are at a higher risk of exposure, the agency said in a statement issued Sept. 4. Most of the companies cited were involved in agriculture, food processing and meatpacking.
Sutter East Bay Medical Foundation was cited after an employee contracted COVID-19, according to the statement. Cal/OSHA said Sutter had failed to provide proper respiratory protection for its employees when transporting patients suspected of having the disease. The not-for-profit health care organization faced proposed penalties of $6,750.
Cal/OSHA said it investigated Sutter after the employee's illness was reported.
Meanwhile, a Grocery Outlet Bargain Market in Santa Clara faces $2,025 in proposed penalties. The retailer, which operates under the name M & J Williams Inc., was inspected as part of California Gov. Gavin Newsom's COVID-19 hazards task force, the agency said. Cal/OSHA didn't specify Grocery Outlet's purported violations.
DL Poultry Inc. in Monterey Park was hit with $51,190 in proposed penalties, the steepest of the lot, according to the agency. The food processing company did not ensure that its workers were distanced at least 6 feet apart in the processing area, nor did it install any barriers between workers, Cal/OSHA said.
The other employers cited include food processor Uni-Kool Partners, meatpacking company Olson Meat Co., and agricultural companies Serve Max Farm Labor Contractor, Ruiz Farm Labor, Michel Labor Services Inc., Sierra-Cascade Nursery Inc., Planasa LLC and Duncan Family Farms. Several of the agriculture employers were also cited for heat illness prevention violations.
The agency launched its inspections after notification of serious illnesses, complaints of workplace hazards or after enforcement efforts, it said.
Cal/OSHA chief Doug Parker said in a statement Tuesday that Cal/OSHA had identified the industries inspected as "priorities in our strategic enforcement efforts to make sure employers have adequate COVID-19 infection prevention procedures in place."
"These are industries where workers have been disproportionately affected, and these citations are the first of many to be issued in the coming weeks and months," Parker said.
In July, Cal/OSHA conducted nearly 8,000 compliance assistance visits to identify and correct issues on the spot, the agency said Friday. It has worked with more than 400,000 businesses.
Representatives of Sutter Health, Grocery Outlet, Olson Meat Co., Planasa and Duncan Family Farms did not immediately return requests for comment. DL Poultry, Uni-Kool Partners, Michel Labor Services Inc., Serve Max Farm Labor Contractor and Ruiz Farm Labor could not be immediately reached Tuesday.
--Editing by Peter Rozovsky.
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