NM O’Reilly Auto Parts Fined $242K in COVID Violations

An auto parts retailer in New Mexico is being fined for not protecting its employees from getting infected with COVID-19.

On Tuesday, regulators with New Mexico’s Environment Department announced its citations filed against O’Reilly Auto Parts for the violations, with penalties totaling $242,827. 

“It’s the maximum allowable penalty that we could issue for these violations,” Maddy Hayden, who works with the New Mexico Environment Department, told KOB-TV.

O’Reilly is not currently facing any legal action stemming from these citations, but Top Class Actions is tracking this story for developments.

Three workers at the O’Reilly store in Lovington, New Mexico contracted COVID-19, according to the agency’s release, including a 46-year-old woman who died. 

Veronica Casarez, a mother and sister to nine brothers, never came out of the hospital after taking a rapid COVID test last summer, KOB-TV reports. 

She was last seen by her family signing “I love you” on the gurney as she was taken in. 

The $242,827 fine O’Reilly will pay New Mexico stems from two citations, each carrying a $121,413 penalty.

New Mexico officials management at the O’Reilly store weren’t screening employees before the start of each shift and allowed them to work in close proximity to one another. 

The second citation involved the sharing of delivery trucks. The vehicles weren’t sanitized between drivers, according to regulators. 

“Providing employees with a false sense of protection from COVID-19 by putting policies in place to comply with state law and then not following them is unconscionable,” New Mexico Environment Department Cabinet Secretary James Kenney said to AP News. “Had O’Reilly management complied with corporate policies, it’s possible this tragic situation could have been avoided.” 

A spokesperson for O’Reilly told KOB-TV the company’s practices follow the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s guidance. 

O’Reilly has 15 days to settle the citations or contest them.

New Mexico public health officials have sanctioned O’Reilly before over not doing enough to protect its employees against COVID-19. 

Last month, regulators sanctioned a store in Santa Fe $79,200 in penalties for not requiring staff to wear masks.

New Mexico officials say the money collected will go to the state general fund, the primary state fund from which the ongoing expenses of state government are paid.

Officials with New Mexico’s Environment Department say workers living in the state can report unsafe conditions by emailing complaints to complaints.osha@state.nm.us.

A wide array of businesses, government bodies and other organizations are involved with litigation related to the COVID-19 outbreak. Stay up to date with the latest on Top Class Actions. 

What do you think of these fines O’Reilly is being ordered to pay? Do you feel safe from COVID-19 at your workplace? Let us know in the comments below. 

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