California grocery store chain didn’t tell Cal/OSHA of COVID-19 deaths, state officials say
Two grocery workers at Los Angeles-area Ralphs Supermarkets died from COVID-19, but the chain waited a week to notify state safety officials.
A grocery worker at each of the supermarket chain’s Culver City and Sherman Oaks locations died, but CalOSHA did not receive word of the Culver City death until seven days after the worker died and was not notified of the Sherman Oaks fatality for six days, state Department of Industrial Relations officials said in a Sept. 30 statement.
The deaths date back to May. Coronavirus outbreaks hit more than 70 Southern California supermarkets in the spring, Los Angeles television station KNBC reported in May.
The outbreaks included a Ralphs location on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood where 21 of the store’s 158 employees tested positive for the virus, the Los Angeles Times reported.
“Grocery retail workers are on the front lines and face a higher risk of exposure to COVID-19,” said Cal/OSHA Chief Doug Parker. “Employers in this industry must investigate possible causes of employee illness and put in the necessary measures to protect their staff.”
Employers and workers are required to report within eight hours any serious illness, injury or death that happens on the job or is related to the job, say Cal/OSHA officials.
Failure to report the deaths topped a list of violations against four Southern California Ralphs locations and a Food 4 Less, all owned by Cincinnati-based Kroger Co., the nation’s largest grocery chain. Kroger now faces $104,380 in proposed penalties.
The Los Angeles Food 4 Less and the Ralphs in Sherman Oaks, Studio City and West Hollywood allowed too many customers in the store to provide for physical distancing. The Ralphs stores failed to install physical barriers at counters and checkout registers, and failed to provide effective training, including how to use disinfectants, what measures to take to avoid contracting the virus and the signs and symptoms of infection, the state officials said.
All five stores were cited for not updating their workplace safety plans to respond to hazards related to the virus, Cal/OSHA said.
Kroger officials said the violations “constitute a misrepresentation of facts.”
In an email Friday, chain spokesman John Votava told The Sacramento Bee that supermarket officials “shared all the details (of the employees’ deaths) as soon as we were made aware by family members.”
Kroger officials maintain that many of the citations were early in the pandemic before worker safety guidelines were in place and that the chain has since put in dozens of COVID-19 safety measures. Kroger plans to appeal the Cal/OSHA ruling.
“We will appeal all decisions and look forward to the opportunity to share a holistic view of each scenario during formal hearings,” Votava said.
This story was originally published October 2, 2020 at 1:33 PM with the headline "California grocery store chain didn’t tell Cal/OSHA of COVID-19 deaths, state officials say."
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