OSHA Inspection: AWT FAMILY, LLC

Issued

Apr 29, 2022

Abate by

Aug 5, 2022

Penalty

Initial $5,801 · Current $2,886 Reduced

General-duty citation text

29 CFR 1910.134(c)(1): A written respiratory protection program that included the provisions in 29 CFR 1910.134(c)(1)(i) - (ix) with worksite specific procedures was not established and implemented for required respirator use:  Facility at 53 Lincoln St, Spencer, MA 01562: On or about November 11, 2021, a written respiratory protection program addressing the provisions in 29 CFR 1910.134(c)(1)(i) - (ix) was not established and implemented to ensure employee protection from exposure to Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) during tasks when respirator use was mandated including, but not limited to, the provision of medication, checking vitals, and providing other care as necessary to residents who were confirmed positive for COVID-19.

Issued

Apr 29, 2022

Abate by

Aug 5, 2022

Penalty

Initial $0 · Current $0

General-duty citation text

29 CFR 1910.134(e)(1): The employer did not provide a medical evaluation to determine the employee's ability to use a respirator, before the employee is fit tested or required to use the respirator in the workplace:   In the facility at 53 Lincoln St, Spencer, MA 01562: On or about November 11, 2021, employees required to use N95 respirators during tasks, such as, but not limited to, the provision of medication, checking vitals, and other care as necessary to residents confirmed positive for COVID-19, were not medically evaluated for their ability to use a respirator.

Issued

Apr 29, 2022

Abate by

Aug 5, 2022

Penalty

Initial $0 · Current $0

General-duty citation text

29 CFR 1910.134(f)(2): Employer did not ensure that employee(s) using tight-fitting facepiece respirators were fit tested prior to initial use of the respirator:  In the facility at 53 Lincoln St, Spencer, MA 01562: On or about November 11, 2021,  employees were required to wear N95 filtering facepiece respirators for protection against SARS-CoV-2 while providing care such as, checking vitals and providing medications for residents who had tested positive for Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), and the employer did not ensure that employees had been fit tested prior to initial use.

Issued

Apr 29, 2022

Abate by

Aug 5, 2022

Penalty

Initial $829 · Current $429 Reduced

General-duty citation text

29 CFR 1904.5(a): The employer did not consider an injury or illness to be work related when the event or exposure in the work environment caused or contributed to an existing condition or significantly aggravated an existing injury or illness.  In the facility at 53 Lincoln St, Spencer, MA 01562: On or about January 6, 2022, the employer did not evaluate COVID-19 positive employees' work duties and environment to decide whether or not one or more events in the work environment either caused or contributed to the resulting COVID-19 condition.   From the time period between November 6, 2021 and November 24, 2021, at least 4 (four) cases of COVID-19 infection occurred among employees  occurred at this facility and were not evaluated for work-relatedness. During the same time period, there were 9 cases of COVID-19 infection among residents.

Issued

Apr 29, 2022

Abate by

Aug 5, 2022

Penalty

Initial $0 · Current $0

General-duty citation text

29 CFR 1910.132(d)(2): The employer did not verify, through a written certification, the identity of the workplace evaluated, the person certifying that the evaluation had been performed, and the date the hazard assessment was done:  In the facility at 53 Lincoln St, Spencer, MA 01562 MA : On or about November 11, 2021, the employer had not verified through a written certification that a required workplace hazard assessment had been performed in order to determine appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) requirements for employees who were providing care, including providing medication and checking vitals of COVID-19 positive residents.  Employer required the use of Full PPE, including N95 respirator, eye protection, gloves, and gowns for all employees caring for COVID-19 positive residents.