CHESAPEAKE, Va. (WAVY) – The U.S. Department of Labor has cited a U.S. Postal Service facility in Chesapeake for failing to provide running water and a usable bathroom.

According to a new brief, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration opened an inspection at the facility located on Godwin Avenue on Aug. 30.

This inspection comes after they received allegations that the employer did not provide potable water or an operating bathroom.

The OSHA inspectors learned that the postal service had not paid water and sanitation bills dating back to February 2022. The water supply for the facility was shut off in July 2022 and inspectors determined employer made an employee work there without running water or a usable bathroom for more than a month.

“Employers must ensure a safe and healthful workplace by making sure workers have access to water for drinking and sanitation,” explained OSHA Area Director Brian Rizzo in Norfolk, Virginia. “U.S. Postal Service management responsible for this facility should have acted more quickly to protect employee health.”

These violations resulted in the facility being fined $13,840.