Plastics firms cited for COVID safety violations; tougher OSHA enforcement on the way

Government safety regulators have issued fines and citations to several plastics companies for violating COVID-19 workplace safety rules, moves that have come as the new administration is calling for stepped-up enforcement in factories and job sites.

The Jan. 21 executive order from President Joe Biden, issued on the first full day of his government, calls for the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration to launch a national COVID-19 enforcement effort and examine whether tougher rules are needed.

It comes as several plastics firms have been cited in recent weeks for violating coronavirus standards.

The Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Administration announced Jan. 22, for example, that it was issuing a fine against Plastic Development Group LLC and citations against United Resin Corporation, in both cases in response to employee complaints.

As well, a Pennsylvania newspaper reported in early January that OSHA officials there had sent a letter to a Hilex-Poly Co. LLC plastic bag making plant in Milesburg, outlining violations including not enforcing mask-wearing and not properly separating employees diagnosed with COVID-19.

And in Texas, government safety inspectors announced in late November that they were fining film and bag maker Poly-America Inc. more than $23,000 for several coronavirus-related violations.

OSHA announced the fines against Grand Prairie, Texas-based Poly-America in November as part of longer list of companies it said were not taking adequate action to protect workplaces from COVID-19 risks.

OSHA did not provide details of the violations it said it found at Poly-America but noted in general that its coronavirus citations can be issued for things like not having a written respiratory protection program or training staff in use of PPE, as well as related violations of general OSHA standards.

Poly-America did not respond to a request for comment. An online OSHA database appeared to say the company was contesting the violations, a standard practice with OSHA citations.

In the case of Pennsylvania, the Centre Daily Times in State College, Pa., reported Jan. 6 that it had obtained a letter OSHA sent to the Hilex-Poly plant on Jan. 5.

The letter alleged that the company had not enforced mask and social distance requirements, that it had not properly disinfected the facility and that it was not separating employees diagnosed with COVID-19.

Novolex, Hilex-Poly's parent company, did not respond to a request for comment but a spokeswoman told the newspaper that it was "confident that our policies and procedures are in line with CDC guidelines designed to protect the health and safety of employees."

The plastics companies cited around the country are a small part of OSHA's coronavirus enforcement efforts to date.

The agency said that as of Jan. 14, it had issued fines of a little more than $4 million stemming from more than 300 inspections.

Judging by OSHA public lists of companies cited, enforcement efforts have focused on health care facilities and meat-packing plants, but the Biden order suggests other workplaces could now face more scrutiny.

In the case of Southfield, Mich.-based Plastic Development Group, Michigan's state OSHA agency said it was fining the company $2,100.

The agency said violations included a lack of a response plan, failing to conduct daily health screenings and failure to require face coverings when social distancing cannot be maintained, as well as failure to use signs, tape or other visual cues directing people where to stand to maintain distancing.

PDG declined to comment. On its website, the company described itself as a supplier of plastic furniture and a licensee of large furniture and recreational goods maker Lifetime Products in Clearfield, Utah.

For United Resin Corp., MIOSHA said the Royal Oak, Mich., epoxy resin firm was cited for not developing a written COVID-19 preparation and response plan, although the agency said it was not issuing a fine in URC's case.

MIOSHA's report also said the company did not have self-screening entry procedures for employees and contractors entering the company but that the firm corrected that during the inspection.

The company also declined to comment.

MIOSHA said in its emergency COVID-19 rules announced in October that between March and October, authorities identified 30 worker deaths and 127 hospitalizations linked to potential workplace exposure to COVID-19 in Michigan.

In Washington, Biden's order calls for a national campaign of stricter enforcement as well as new guidance for employers.

It calls on OSHA to develop the revised guidance on workplace safety during the pandemic by Feb. 4, and determine whether further emergency standards are needed, including for mask-wearing in the workplace, by March 15.

The National Employment Law Project praised the order.

"This order is a total reversal of the Trump administration's dangerous strategy to sideline OSHA during the worst public health and occupational health crisis since the agency was created 50 years ago," NELP said. NELP has said it believes OSHA should have done many more workplace COVID inspections.

The National Association of Manufacturers, which has advocated for mask-wearing, said factories have worked to keep employees safe and said it wanted to work with the Biden administration on new COVID protocols.

"What manufacturers need now is clear, science-based information on how COVID-19 spreads, and any rules or standards should provide the flexibility necessary for companies to implement health protocols tailored to the unique circumstances of their shop floors and work environments," NAM said Jan. 21.