Since 1994, OSHA inspectors have visited Desert Valley Date in California 4 times.
The most recent inspection opened on Sep 18, 2017 after an accident, in Coachella.
In all, OSHA issued 8 citation items: 3 serious and 5 other-than-serious.
The proposed penalties came to $47,950; today they stand at $27,275, 43% less.
Among farming, fishing and forestry employers, the typical cited inspection since 2015 ends with a $1,440 penalty. Desert Valley Date averages $20,750 across 1 cited inspection.
Inspection 342644606 OPENED SEP 18, 2017Closed
Accident · Partial · Safety · 95 employees at the site · Closed Aug 16, 2018
86740 Industrial Way, Coachella, CA 92236 · Fruit and Tree Nut Combination Farming · OSHA's record · Phone and website on Google Maps
Incident on Sep 7, 2017: Employee sustains lacerations and crushing injuries to hand
At 8:00 a.m. on September 7, 2017, Employee #1 was working in a food production facility, packaging harvested dates and date products. The employee was testing the moisture content of the dates in the quality control lab. She was using a tabletop grinder, with no identifying information as it was decades old, in order to grind the sample dates into a paste to be scrutinized for testing of moisture content. Employee #1's hand became caught in the grinder and he sustained lacerations and crushing injuries to her hand and finger. The employee was not hospitalized.
| Citation and rule | Type | Proposed | Current | Issued | Status |
|---|
| Citation 1, item 1 29 CFR 342(A) |
Other-than-serious | $5,000 | $3,250 | Nov 20, 2017 | Final |
| Citation 1, item 2 29 CFR 3203(A)(4) |
Other-than-serious | $650 | $650 | Nov 20, 2017 | Final |
| Citation 2, item 1 29 CFR 4552(A) |
Serious | $16,200 | $16,200 | Nov 20, 2017 | Final |
| Citation 3, item 1 29 CFR 4552(B) |
Other-than-serious | $16,200 | $650 | Nov 20, 2017 | Final |
Incident on Sep 25, 2001: Employee's finger amputated by falling forklift platform
At approximately 1:00 p.m. on September 26, 2001, Employee #1 of Desert Valley D ate Inc. was operating a Toyota Forklift with a platform 46 in. by 71 in., top r ail 34 in., midrail 17 in. unfastened to the forks of the forklift. He was insid e the platform about 6 ft high checking the motor of the roll up door. Employee #1 moved from one side of the platform to the other side to check a different se ction of the motor when the platform started falling. Employee #1 then grabbed t he top rail of the platform with his left hand. As the platform was falling, the top rail with Employee #1's left hand on top struck a piece of sharp edge steel that was sticking out. Employee #1 was hospitalized for three days for an amput ation to his left middle finger.
| Citation and rule | Type | Proposed | Current | Issued | Status |
|---|
| Citation 1, item 1 29 CFR 3657 A02 |
Other-than-serious | $300 | $300 | Mar 25, 2002 | Closed |
Incident on Oct 24, 1995: Employee's fingers amputated by rollers
Employee #1 was using a plastic spatula to feed/move dates that had become embed ded between two converging rotating rolls on a macerator. His left hand became e ntangled in the rotating rolls and the middle and ring fingertips on his left ha nd were amputated.
| Citation and rule | Type | Proposed | Current | Issued | Status |
|---|
| Citation 1, item 1 29 CFR 4187 A |
Serious | $4,500 | $1,125 | Dec 20, 1995 | Final |
Incident on Jul 15, 1994: Employee injured when thigh cut by power saw
At 1:10 p.m. on July 15, 1994, Employee #1 was cutting 4 inch by 4 inch lumber f or the purpose of repairing boxes that were used to harvest and store dates. Emp loyee #1 was using a worm gear drive powered hand saw (Skill-Saw) to cut the lum ber. As Employee #1 moved about the area to position the wood so he could cut al l the way through the lumber, the cord that supplied power to the saw became tan gled on some of the lumber. Employee #1 thought he was going to drop the saw, so he tightened his grip on the handle of the saw. In doing so, he also turned the saw on. The guard of the saw was pinned in the up position, causing the saw bla de to cut into Employee #1's right thigh.
| Citation and rule | Type | Proposed | Current | Issued | Status |
|---|
| Citation 1, item 1 29 CFR 3203 A07 D |
Other-than-serious | $100 | $100 | Aug 30, 1994 | Closed |
| Citation 2, item 1 29 CFR 4307 B |
Serious | $5,000 | $5,000 | Aug 30, 1994 | Closed |
Current text from the Code of Federal Regulations. Some citations were issued under older wording.
Source: U.S. Department of Labor, OSHA enforcement data. A citation is OSHA's allegation; employers can contest it, and the status column shows where each item stands. Something wrong on this page? Tell us.
