Houston Tortilla Factory Fined Nearly $107K for Workplace Hazards

August 4, 2016

Federal safety officials have proposed penalties of $106,700 against a Houston tortilla factory over unsafe conditions at the company’s workplace.

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration initiated an investigation at the Houston Heights location of La Espiga de Oro after the agency received a complaint against the tortilla maker.

Its inspection resulted in 25 serious violations for exposing workers to struck-by and caught-in hazards and failing to protect workers from dangerous machinery. Inspectors also found workers exposed to extreme heat, electrical hazards including exposed energized electrical parts and fall hazards as they loaded dough into machines used to make tortillas.

La Espiga de Oro has operated since 1977 at its Houston Heights location, and supplies restaurants in Texas, Louisiana and Colorado. It has approximately 65 employees.

The company has 15 business days from receipt of the citations to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA’s area director, or contest the citations and penalties before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.

The citations were issued on Aug. 1.

Source: OSHA

Topics Commercial Lines Business Insurance Manufacturing

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