Oregon hemp facility fined $825,000 for housing workers in condemned building

Five southern Oregon hemp businesses have been fined $825,000 for allegedly making employees live and work in unsafe conditions.

Oregon’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) reported this week it has fined five businesses connected to a processing facility in Josephine County, including Eighteen New Hope LLC and Safe and Simple LLC.

The facility operators were identified as owners Yoram Levy and Jai B Levy and manager Yuval Magid, according to the agency.

According to OSHA documents, at least 25 employees were living and working in a 23,398-square-foot warehouse where they trimmed and packaged hemp for sale. The agency’s investigators said the building had previously been condemned by the county’s building inspector for structural defects that could have been life threatening.

The operators of the fined businesses were cited for several alleged violations, including acting as agricultural farm labor contractors without a license. They have 30 days to appeal the citation.

To read more about the case, click here.