The U.S. Occupational Safety Administration has found that the meat-processing giant JBS failed to protect workers in Greeley, Colorado, from a COVID-19 outbreak that killed six employees and sickened hundreds more. The big punishment for this? A fine of $15,615—for a company that sold $51 billion worth of meat last year. And get this: JBS is pushing back, complaining that the citation and penalty are “entirely without merit.” OSHA says the fine is the maximum allowed, but the union representing the workers said it was “immoral and unethical” that the agency waited months to investigate allegations of unsafe working conditions.
