The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration has fined the owners of a northeast Ohio chicken processing plant $861,000 for what the agency says are safety violations that expose workers to the risk of amputation, electrocution and falls.
OSHA says an investigation found numerous hazards at a processing plant in Winesburg owned by North Carolina-based Case Farms Processing Inc. The statement says the plant is an "outrageously dangerous place to work" and that a company plant in nearby Canton also is being investigated. OSHA says Case was aware of dangers in Winesburg but continued to expose workers to harm. Case, whose headquarters are in Troutman, North Carolina, says it's reviewing the allegations and will work with OSHA. A spokeswoman says the plant has surpassed 900,000 employee hours without a lost-time injury.
