A Centre County company is accused of COVID-19 safety violations. OSHA is involved
The federal agency that oversees workplace safety is evaluating whether a Boggs Township manufacturer failed to protect its employees from the coronavirus.
A letter sent Tuesday by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and obtained by the Centre Daily Times outlined three potential shortcomings in Hilex Poly’s infection control plan, or lack thereof.
The company was accused of not ensuring employees diagnosed with COVID-19 were kept separate from those who have not tested positive, not properly disinfecting the facility at 606 Curtin Road and not enforcing mask wearing or social distancing.
“We will respond to the agency as required and can’t speak further to the details of the complaint,” Novolex Communications Director Katie Hendrix wrote in a statement. “However, we’re confident that our policies and procedures are in line with CDC guidelines designed to protect the health and safety of employees.”
The plastic bag manufacturer is one of the larger employers in Centre County. It ranked No. 42 as of the second quarter of 2020, according to the state Department of Labor and Industry Center for Workforce Information and Analysis.
Penalties are only doled out if an inspection finds health or safety violations. Employers who provide documentation that they’re correcting any hazards may not be subject to an inspection.
The company has until Jan. 12 to respond, a Labor Department spokesperson wrote in an email.