California fined these Stanislaus County workplaces for COVID prevention violations
California’s workplace safety agency fined five Stanislaus County businesses in the past six months for allegedly violating COVID-19 prevention rules including maintaining negative pressure in hospital isolation rooms.
A Modesto frozen dessert manufacturer and a Patterson farm labor contractor faced the highest proposed penalties: about $50,000 and $10,000 respectively, records show.
Inspectors with California’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health, better known as Cal/OSHA, also cited an acute care hospital, skilled nursing center and assisted living facility in the county. Appeals are pending from two of the five employers, Cal/OSHA spokesperson Jeanne-Mairie Duval said in an email.
Complaints prompted inspections of three businesses, while an accident and referral triggered the other two. Employees or anonymous sources may report complaints, while referrals can come from an attorney representing a worker, union representative, news organization, safety professional or compliance officer. Accident-initiated inspections generally happen after employers notify Cal/OSHA of work-related serious illnesses and fatalities, Duval said.
The state in June fined Paleteria La Michoacana $50,000 for failing to implement and maintain an injury and illness prevention program at its factory on Lapham Drive, per the citation. Inspectors reported the employer did not effectively screen workers for COVID-19, require them to wear face coverings before May 2020, nor ensure physical distancing in work or break areas. All violations were corrected during inspection, per the citation.
Inspectors also issued a $5,000 regulatory citation because the business waited about a week to report an employee getting hospitalized for COVID-19 instead of immediately, as required. Paleteria La Michoacana did not respond to requests for comment, but Duval said an appeal is still pending as of Monday.
Cal/OSHA in March similarly fined Salinas Farm Labor Contractor in Patterson $10,125 in penalties related to coronavirus safety violations. Inspectors reported the contractor failed to ensure workers wore face coverings and maintained physical distancing while harvesting bell peppers and preparing a field for turf grass planting.
The head supervisor, who declined to give his name, said he believed the contractor paid the fines. He declined to comment further on the phone Thursday. Duval confirmed Salinas Farm Labor Contractor paid the penalties for both work sites.
Cal/OSHA cited Modesto medical facilities
The state in June also proposed $8,625 in COVID-19-related penalties for Central Valley Specialty Hospital on 17th Street in Modesto. Before September 2020, the hospital failed to maintain negative pressure in isolation rooms where staff cared for patients who tested positive for COVID-19 or had symptoms of the airborne infectious disease, inspectors reported.
Keeping isolation rooms under negative pressure prevents contaminated air from flowing out into adjacent areas, per the California Department of Industrial Regulations. Lacking the air pressure difference means the virus may have spread out of the isolation rooms. The hospital corrected the issue during inspection, per the citation.
Cal/OSHA also cited Central Valley Specialty Hospital for failing to both report training records for employees who worked at its COVID-19 isolation unit and provide evaluations for employees to determine their ability to use a respirator. The hospital further failed to establish and maintain an exposure control plan, Cal/OSHA reported.
Central Valley Specialty Hospital is in the process of appealing the fines and feels they lack basis, per a statement administrative assistant Michael Worsham emailed on Monday. The state and county public health departments approved all of the hospital’s safety measures and cleared it to admit COVID-19 patients, the statement said.
“It must be pointed out that from the beginning of this pandemic to now, there has been no major outbreak at this facility for either patients and/or staff,” the emailed statement said. “And we believe that this is beyond proof that we have taken this pandemic seriously and ensure all necessary measures were taken to ensure the safety of both patients and staff.”
Investigators cited Paramount Court Senior Living in Turlock for not establishing a written respirator infection protection program, providing medical evaluations for N-95 masks nor testing the fit of the respirators before initial use. Cal/OSHA proposed $1,950 in penalties this June, per the citation.
Cal/OSHA gave the assisted living facility until July 19 to resolve the violations. Both Cal/OSHA and the corporate office for Paramount Court, Portland-based Frontier Management, confirmed payment of the fines.
“Paramount Court adhered to the fines and immediately addressed all issues and offered a plan of correction for the citations which were agreed upon and satisfactory,” said Kathy Swann, Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Frontier Management. “At Paramount Court we continue with COVID-19 mitigation protocols which go above and beyond federal CDC requirements for long-term care facilities.”
Valley Skilled Nursing Center on Orangeburg Avenue in Modesto faced the lowest COVID-19 penalties out of the Stanislaus County employers Cal/OSHA cited for coronavirus safety. The state fined the center $1,685 in June for failing to establish both an exposure control plan and a written respiratory protection program for its COVID-19 unit before September 2020, per the citation.
Management corrected both issues during inspection, Cal/OSHA reported. Valley Skilled Nursing Center did not respond to requests for comment, but Duval said it paid the penalties.
As of Monday, no appeal documents for the fines issued to Paleteria La Michoacana and Central Valley Specialty Hospital were available on the Cal/OSHA webpage. The webpage listing workplace COVID-19 violations and appeals is updated weekly.
This story was originally published August 17, 2021 at 4:00 AM.
