GEO Group Fined More Than $100,000 (by OSHA)
Prison profiteer GEO Group was cited by the Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) in a June 2012 report with six safety and health violations—totaling $104,000 in fines—at the East Mississippi Correctional Facility, which the company formerly managed.
OSHA said that, based on a December 2011 inspection of the prison that stemmed from an internal complaint, GEO Group exposed PACT employees to workplace violence and failed to take action to reduce the risk. Though prisons are inherently dangerous workplace, OSHA said, GEO Group is nevertheless required to take every precaution to protect guards and other staff from safety hazards.
According to OSHA's report, GEO Group—which trails only Corrections Corporation of America (CCA) as the second-largest For-profit prison operator in the United States—also failed to provide an adequate level of staffing. to fix malfunctioning cell door locks, or to provide proper safety training, All were willful violations by GEO Group, OSHA said. meaning there was intentional knowing or voluntary disregard for the law's requirements,
When OSHA issued its report. it gave GEO Group 15 days to respond, After the report was released. GEO Group spokesman Pablo Paez declined to give an immediate response from the company.
Source: www.wtok.com
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