Over the holiday weekend, staff at Western United Dairies had been alerted by our members and CMAB that regional Cal-OSHA safety personnel had visited a number of dairies in Merced County given the spike in the number of COVD-19 cases in that county. 

Immediately, WUD staff engaged the senior staff at Cal-OSHA in Sacramento and we felt it was timely to report to you on the scale and scope of these visits, and perhaps most importantly, give you the best information to protect you, your employees and your dairy. 

 It has been reported to us by Cal-OSHA staff in Sacramento that the visits were “compliance assistance” visits only and not part of an enforcement campaign.  We have not received any reports that citations have been issued to any of our members.   Cal-OSHA had coordinated these “compliance assistance” visits to educate and to ensure producers have hand washing stations available, soap, sanitation in lavatories and, a relatively new requirement, face coverings for all employees.   We have also confirmed that official inspections – those associated with potential enforcement – would never occur on the weekends or holidays.   

Through this platform, WUD had reported on new requirements, including masks, and the best available resources for obtaining face coverings for your workforce. If you’re looking to source face coverings please click on the link or forward this to your purchasing staff and have them obtain this safety equipment as soon as possible.  If you have experienced a “compliance assistance” visit from Cal-OSHA and you would like to share with us your experience, please email:  darby@wudairies.com