The U.S. Department of Labor on Wednesday said it reached a settlement agreement with Pepsi Guam Bottling following an OSHA inspection that found the company exposed employees to amputation and other serious injuries.
The settlement with OSHA before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission (OSHRC) requires Pepsi Guam Bottling to pay $132,591 in penalties, abate the safety failures found during the investigation and implement a comprehensive safety and health program to protect workers moving forward. OSHRC is an independent federal agency that decides contested citations or penalties OSHA issues to employers after workplace inspections.
Under the agreement, Pepsi Guam Bottling must develop a written, comprehensive safety and health program and allow a warrantless inspection of the facility to be completed within the next year. The company also has to form a safety and health committee between management and employees and provide heat stress training to its employees.
The settlement follows an October 2022 OSHA inspection that determined the employer exposed workers to amputation and other serious injuries by leaving the machines' guard doors open and permitting a safety proximity switch on a bottle-labeling machine to be deactivated. Defeating the safety devices helped workers avoid production slowdowns and stoppages, but it also posed a severe amputation risk
The agency found the company failed to protect workers from operating machine parts and proposed penalties totaling $180,807 for one willful violation, one repeat violation and six serious violations.
