Greeley’s Pilgrim’s Pride disputes allegations of unsafe working conditions

Greeley-based Pilgrim’s Pride Corp. (Nasdaq: PPC) is disputing allegations of unsafe working conditions at one of its Texas chicken processing plants, according to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

Pilgrim’s Pride faces nearly $60,000 in fines from citations handed down by safety regulators accusing the company of operating an unsafe electrical system in Nacogdoches, Texas, according to the federal safety agency. The company faces a $38,500 fine for an alleged repeat violation and another $21,000 for an alleged serious violation.

The citations follow the death of a worker who was electrocuted at the East Texas plant in August.

Specifically, employees were exposed in August to electrical shock hazards, according to the citations from the federal agency. The company also failed to conduct adequate testing and labeling of electrical equipment.

A representative of Greeley-based JBS USA, which owns a controlling interest in Pilgrim’s Pride, declined to comment.

In October, another Pilgrim’s Pride worker was killed when he was struck by a chunk of ice while working at a company chicken processing plant in Mount Pleasant, Texas.

In a separate case, Pilgrim’s Pride has disputed alleged safety violations handed down by OHSA at the company’s De Queen, Ark., plant. The company was accused in July 2013 of exposing workers to hazardous chemicals, among other allegations.

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