OSHA Fine company that would not let employees and customers wear masks

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has issued a $ 136,000 fine against a Massachusetts tax preparer who allegedly banned employees from wearing masks at work amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The fine against Lynn’s Freedom Tax Service marks the heaviest penalty OSHA has imposed related to COVID-19, an agency spokesman confirmed. It’s likely to be a sign of a more aggressive application of workplace safety now that Biden’s administration is in charge.

Galen Blanton, OSHA regional administrator in Boston, said in a statement that tax service owner Ariana Murrell-Rosario demonstrated a “volunteer refusal to implement basic guarantees ”to protect employees from the coronavirus.

In a telephone interview, Murrell-Rosario acknowledged that he did not allow employees to wear masks and prohibited customers from wearing them as well. He said masks are a “deadly” health hazard “It should be banned outside this country.”

U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that people wear masks “wherever they are around other people” in order to slow the spread of COVID-19. The idea that masks themselves cause disease in people has thrived in some corners of the Internet, but public health experts have it widely he discredited it.

Murrell-Rosario said there are usually five or six people working in each of the two offices. He said he will continue to ban the use of masks despite the OSHA fine.

A $ 136,000 fine may not sound too strong, but it is much larger than most sanctions OSHA issued during the Trump administration. These fines were usually in the lower five figures, even in cases of major outbreaks in meat packaging plants. After four workers at the Smithfield meat packaging plant died of COVID-19 last year, OSHA issued a fine of just $ 13,494.

In the case of Massachusetts, the agency raised the penalty by considering it an “intentional” violation, which carries a higher price than standard fines. “Volunteer” means that the employer knowingly violated the law or showed a “clear indifference” to the health of the workers.

Many occupational safety experts criticized the leadership of the Donald Trump administration for not reaching these fines, arguing that they could have sent a message to other employers who needed to follow basic safety protocols. They also said the agency was moving too slowly in issuing fines during a public health crisis, often taking nearly six months to hand out citations.

In the case of Massachusetts, the researchers moved faster. They opened the investigation on March 17 and quoted the company three weeks later, on April 8th.

OSHA regulations are usually very specific, but there are no rules on books specifically related to COVID-19. Thus, the agency has imposed most of its fines based on the “general duty” clause, a widespread rule that says an employer must provide a “recognized hazard-free” job.

Safety advocates have been pressuring OSHA to issue a temporary emergency standard that would force employers to follow specific guidelines about the virus, subject to fines. The Trump administration did not issue that standard and so far neither has the Biden administration, although it indicated early on that it would likely do so.

Murrell-Rosario said none of his employees had fallen ill yet and that the complaints that prompted the investigation probably came from customers who were told not to wear masks inside. OSHA’s initial fines are often reduced and Murrell-Rosario said he plans to fight them.