TUMWATER, Wash. — Three Centralia businesses have been fined more than $285,000 after 250 workers contracted COVID-19 at a food supply warehouse, according to the Department of Labor & Industries.
L&I opened several investigations after receiving a referral from the Thurston County Health Department. As a result of these investigations, United Natural Foods Inc., Capstone Logistics LLC and Prime 360 are now facing fines for “knowingly” putting their workers at risk of exposure to COVID-19.
“Our investigation uncovered a widespread outbreak that put employees, their families, and their communities across 10 counties at risk for COVID-19,” said Joel Sacks, L&I director. “The actions these companies took or failed to take undoubtedly made it worse—contributing to faster and broader spread of the virus in the workplace.”
Approximately one in four employees working in the warehouse between July 7 and Oct. 5, 2021, tested positive for COVID-19, according to L&I. Of the 253 workers who tested positive, five were hospitalized.
United Natural Foods Inc. owns and operates the food supply warehouse with about a thousand employees; 600 work directly for the company, and the rest are contract workers.
After an initial investigation in July, UNFI told officials that they voluntarily closed most operations and committed to using minimal required staffing. However, further investigation found that they continued to fulfill shipments from the site with their general workforce.
UNFI also failed to provide contact information for employees who had tested positive, claimed not to know who some employees worked for and allowed employees to continue working at the facility after they tested positive for COVID-19.
L&I issued an Order of Immediate Restraint to ensure safety measures were put in place before the facility reopened.
UNFI was fined a total of $140,000 for allowing workers with COVID-19 into the workplace and for failure to report hospitalizations, verify worker vaccination status and enforce mask use.
About 200 of the contract employees at the warehouse are employed by Capstone Logistics LLC. Fifty-four of Capstone’s employees tested positive for COVID-19 and one was hospitalized.
According to L&I, Capstone loaded crowded vans with employees without screening for temperature and COVID-19 symptoms or requiring masks and told a worker he had not tested positive for COVID-19 even though he had.
Capstone was cited for not verifying worker vaccination status, not enforcing mask use on vehicles or in the workplace and for allowing workers with COVID-19 or symptoms of the virus in the workplace. They were also cited for not reporting a hospitalization and other non-COVID-related violations. In total, they were fined $75,400.
Prime 360 employed about 24 of the contract employees in the distribution warehouse and four of those workers tested positive for COVID-19.
L&I’s investigation found that Prime 360′s on-site manager showed a personal disagreement with statewide health and safety rules and chose not to enforce them. He reportedly told L&I that it was his policy to assume any employee not wearing a mask was vaccinated. The business received a serious willful violation and was fined $70,000.
Six other businesses in the warehouse were cited for less serious violations including not having proper COVID-19 protocols in place.
Capstone and Prime 360 both appealed the citations and fines they received. The deadline for UNFI to appeal is Feb. 8.
©2022 Cox Media Group
