An employee at a Naperville warehouse brought in restaurant tacos for an office lunch on a Friday in late October. Less than three weeks later, 23 workers had COVID-19 and one had died. This week, Midwest Warehouse and Distribution System was cited for a serious violation by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration for allegedly failing to take immediate steps to contain the COVID-19 .
Illinois Distribution Warehouse Cited for Virus Exposures; Fined $12K April 29, 2021
A few days after employees at Midwest Warehouse and Distribution System Inc. gathered in its Naperville, Ill., facility breakroom for a luncheon, some workers experienced symptoms consistent with coronavirus exposure. Employees began reporting to the company that they had tested positive for the coronavirus on Oct. 27, 2020.
A U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration investigation alleges the company failed to take immediate steps to identify, inform, isolate and quarantine all potentially exposed employees.
By Nov. 9, 2020, 23 employees tested positive for the coronavirus, including one worker who died from complications on Nov. 4, 2020.