Factory: Niagara Textiles
Key Buyers: Cutter & Buck, New Wave Group
Last Updated: 2023
Case Summary
The WRC investigated and, with the assistance of New Wave Group and university licensee Cutter & Buck, secured corrective actions to address two vehicular accidents involving factory workers in 2021 (a crash of a company-provided bus while transporting workers to the factory) and 2022 (a truck accident on the factory premises), which resulted in the death of one employee and serious injuries to six others.
As of June 2023, Niagara:
- Paid compensation to the family of the worker killed in the 2022 accident and secured additional compensation from an industry fund;
- Compensated all workers who were seriously injured in these accidents for all unreimbursed medical expenses and disciplined the manager who threatened a worker with violence for complaining of the factory’s prior refusal to do this;
- Paid the workers who were seriously injured in the 2021 accident severance, along with full back pay for the two years since they were terminated in 2021;
- Offered the injured workers reinstatement with reasonable accommodations for their injuries; and
- Improved vehicular safety on factory premises by setting separate routes for workers and trucks, and Niagara committed to improve safety on bus transportation by employing credentialed drivers, limiting capacity on buses, and installing monitoring equipment.
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