WINESBURG, OHIO — Case Farms Processing Inc. faces $393,449 in proposed penalties from the US Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) for repeated worker safety violations. According to the agency, Case Farms exposed workers to multiple hazards at its Winesburg, Ohio, chicken processing plant.

OSHA opened a follow-up inspection under the agency’s Severe Violator Enforcement Program at the processing plant on Aug. 7, 2023.

During the inspection, the agency reported machine guarding and trip-and-fall hazards in the facility’s live-hang department that were similar to violations cited in a previous case.

As a result, OSHA cited the processor for three repeat, seven serious and four other-than-serious violations for not using required lockout/tagout procedures, not training workers in such procedures, a lack of machine guarding to protect workers from contact with operating machine parts and exposing workers to fall and electrical hazards.

Since 1988, OSHA has cited Case Farms 70 times at its facilities in North Carolina and Ohio, leading to around 450 violations issued in total. Most of those violations related to machine guarding, lockout/tagout procedures, fall and electrical hazards and processing safety management, OSHA said.

Based in Troutman, NC, Case Farms employs 3,500 workers nationwide. Case Farms’ Winesburg facility employs 576 workers and processes approximately 140,000 chickens every day.

The company has 15 business days to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA’s area director or contest the findings before the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.

Case Farms responded to the OSHA claims, disagreeing with the citations. The company plans to "aggressively defend" its position.

The processor noted that three years ago it conducted a $130 million plant improvement and expansion with new state-of-the-art equipment. Case Farms disagrees that the new additions do not contain the proper machine guarding.

To improve the safety, Case Farms said it made a previous investment of $3 million in capital improvements and repairs as well as $400,000 in an outside safety consulting firm. Additionally, the company has increased its safety team to three professionals to provide safety training to team members at the Winesburg plant.

"Case Farms takes safety very seriously. We regularly train our team members in all aspects of safety," the company said. "We conduct safety committee meetings with team members, and we welcome their ideas to improve safety. Our goal is for our team members to leave our facility the same way they arrived."