As U.S. businesses reopen, worried workers and their advocates are borrowing a legal strategy commonly used to shut down rowdy topless bars to try and force employers to strengthen protection against further spread of the coronavirus.
FILE PHOTO: McDonald’s workers strike for protective gear, as the spread of the coronavirus disease continues, in Los Angeles, California, U.S., April 6, 2020. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson/File Photo
“The damage done by inadequate safety practices is not confined to the walls of a restaurant but instead has broader public health consequences,” Tuesday’s lawsuit said. OSHA did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Unions have criticized the agency for lax enforcement and failing to issue mandatory standards for businesses to stem the spread of COVID-19.
The Fight for $15 group, which campaigns to raise the U.S. minimum wage to $15 an hour, is also helping the workers. To prevail, plaintiffs must prove a defendant interfered with a public good, like the community’s health. Unlike a typical lawsuit, it does not generally require proof that the defendant directly injured someone.
But Smithfield was already being investigated by OSHA and unlike McDonald’s, there were no confirmed COVID-19 cases in the Missouri plant.
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