The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration is proposing $379,800 in penalties against Mar-Jac Poultry Inc. for safety and health violations at its Gainesville facility.

Mar-Jac officials declined comment, and later said they would issue a statement today.

The company is being cited with four willful violations with a proposed penalty of $252,000. The penalties are for failing to update its hazard analysis in five-year intervals as required; establish specific procedures to maintain the integrity of process equipment; and institute equipment and procedural changes for the ammonia refrigeration system in 2004, 2005 and 2008.

G.T. Breezley, OSHA’s area director, based in Tucker, said the penalties are the result of inspections at the plant at 1020 Aviation Blvd.

The inspections took place after someone lodged a complaint, Breezley said, declining to give further details.

"We went out on a complaint and then we kind of expanded that because of what we were finding," he said.

The agency does conduct random investigations but most are unannounced, Breezley said.

As far as the amount, he didn’t know how it ranked compared to past penalties assessed in the area.

He did say the amount fell on the larger side of what the agency normally assesses.

OSHA defines a willful violation as one committed with plain indifference to or intentional disregard for employee safety and health.

Mar-Jac also has failed to perform the required compliance audits for 2000, 2003 and 2007.

Mar-Jac is being cited with 37 serious safety and health violations for $127,800 in proposed penalties.

The company has 15 business days from receipt of the citations to comply, request an informal conference with the OSHA area director or contest the citations and proposed penalties before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.