Judge Refuses to Waive $31,000 Fine After Firm Complies With Safety Inspections

PEORIA, Ill. — A federal judge has upheld his prior order imposing a $31,000 fine on All-Feed Processing and Packaging Inc. for refusing to allow safety officials to inspect conditions for individual workers at the agricultural feed company, saying the company’s later compliance did not purge the contempt finding.

Senior District Judge Joe Billy McDade of the U.S. District Court for the Central District of Illinois rejected All-Feed’s argument with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to waive the fine in return for allowing the inspections was binding on the court or that a magistrate judge’s decision to vacate his …