OSHA Accused in Maid-Rite Suit of Contradicting Own Guidance

Three workers suing as Jane Does and an advocacy group argue that OSHA contradicted its own guidance on social distancing in meat plants when it declined to cite Maid-Rite Specialty Foods, where employees are allegedly forced to work shoulder-to-shoulder despite the coronavirus contagion.

Opposing a government motion to dismiss their lawsuit against the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the Jane Does said in court papers filed on Aug. 14 that Labor Secretary Eugene Scalia and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration “arbitrarily and capriciously failed” to protect workers from imminent danger at Maid-Rite’s plant in Dunmore, Pennsylvania.

The lawsuit was ...