Associated Milk Producers, Inc., based in New Ulm, Minn., has settled with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) over a safety violation in its Blair, Wis. milk plant.
Last August, an independent milk hauler fell 10’ from the top of a tanker truck and subsequently died of his injuries. OSHA had originally fined AMPI $72,500 for failure to require a safety harness for the milk hauler working a top the tanker.
AMPI has since met with OSHA officials in an informal conference, and has agreed to pay $56,000. AMPI could have contested the violation further through a more formal hearing process, but AMPI officials decided it was in the best interest of the co-op to settle and close the matter, says Sheryl Meshke, AMPI VP of Public Affairs.
For its part, OSHA reduced the violation from a “willful” to a “repeat” act.
