Taylor Farms New Jersey Inc.
Outcome
Taylor Farms New Jersey Inc. was cited for 16 willful and repeat lockout/tagout violations and fined $1,125,484 after a worker died while cleaning a machine at the Swedesboro vegetable processing facility; staffing contractor PL Solutions Group LLC received an additional $33,100 in penalties for related training failures.
Details
Taylor Farms New Jersey Inc. — Worker Killed During Machine Cleaning, Willful Lockout/Tagout (2025)
Outcome: One worker died while cleaning a machine at Taylor Farms' Swedesboro, New Jersey vegetable processing facility; OSHA cited 16 willful and repeat lockout/tagout violations and proposed $1,125,484 in penalties against Taylor Farms and $33,100 against staffing contractor PL Solutions Group LLC.
A worker died at Taylor Farms New Jersey Inc.'s vegetable processing facility in Swedesboro, New Jersey while cleaning and sanitizing a machine. OSHA initiated an investigation in May 2025. Investigators found the company had not implemented the lockout/tagout procedures required by federal law to protect workers from unexpected machine energization during sanitation operations.
OSHA issued 16 citations — classified as willful and repeated — for failure to implement lockout/tagout requirements and failure to train workers on these procedures. The $1,125,484 proposed penalty reflected both the severity of the willful classification and the 16 instance citations. Staffing contractor PL Solutions Group LLC, which had supplied workers to the facility, received three serious citations totaling $33,100 for its own failure to implement or train workers on the lockout/tagout procedures its employees were required to follow. The combined proposed penalty was $1,158,584.
Primary Source: US Department of Labor proposes more than $1M fine following worker fatality at New Jersey vegetable processing facility
How Crucible Prevents This
Sanitation and machine cleaning in food processing are the highest-risk lockout/tagout scenarios because workers are in direct contact with machine interiors. A Crucible pre-task gate that requires documented energy isolation confirmation and machine-specific lockout procedure sign-off before any sanitation or cleaning task is initiated would directly address the systemic absence OSHA found here. The staffing contractor's parallel citation also illustrates the need for host employer and staffing agency compliance alignment.
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