Federal workplace health and safety inspectors have found more than two dozen fire, electrical, respiratory and sanitary hazards at tobacco factories in Brooklyn and Queens where immigrant workers complained about substandard pay and conditions.
HotHead Grabba, which packages tubes of loose ground tobacco leaves sold in smoke shops and bodegas around the New York region, is facing more than $91,000 in fines from the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration, in probes that are still ongoing.
The agency found 10 “serious” violations of federal health and safety laws at a HotHead Grabba facility in Cypress Hills, Brooklyn, a category it reserves for hazards that “could cause an accident or illness that would most likely result in death or serious physical harm.”
At another HotHead facility in Ozone Park, Queens, inspectors identified 12 serious violations. OSHA recommended $36,874 in fines related to the Brooklyn factory and $54,267 in fines related to the Queens factory, for a total of $91,141.
The agency launched its probe on March 4, days after four women employed at the Brooklyn factory alleged in an interview with THE CITY that they endured health symptoms triggered by working 13-hour days, six days a week stripping tobacco in an enclosed space, including dizziness, fainting, fatigue and nausea. One said she experienced a urinary tract infection after being unable to take bathroom breaks for hours on end.
The women also submitted complaints to the New York State Department of Labor in late February, alleging that they were paid for each pound of tobacco processed and earned about $105 a day — half the $16-an-hour minimum wage — when they were paid at all. That investigation is still ongoing.
Federal hazards inspectors identified unmarked and unsafe exits, and a failure to provide personal protective equipment.
“Employees engaged in tobacco manufacturing activities including shredding, drying, and packing tobacco leaves by using their bare hands were exposed to nicotine. Nicotine is absorbed through the skin. The employer failed to provide the employees with gloves,” reads one violation report.
Two brothers formerly employed at the Queens factory relayed similar experiences in an interview with THE CITY in April. Inside, they grinded tobacco for 10 to 13 hours a day, seven days a week. While HotHead Grabba provided them with surgical masks, one of the men said it was barely a buffer against the acrid tobacco smell, so strong that he and his brother stuffed their masks with napkins as an additional filter.
OSHA launched its probe of that facility the following month.
One of those former employees, who spoke with THE CITY under the condition of anonymity, absorbed news of OSHA’s fines with anger and relief. He and his brother quit their jobs at the factory in December 2023 after working there for a little over a month.
“We dodged a bullet,” he said in Spanish, alluding to the fire hazards. “It makes me angry that they think they can get away with exploiting us immigrant workers.”
At the Queens facility, OSHA also cited risks tied to potentially explosive particles in the factory: “Employees are exposed to fire hazards from the accumulation of combustible dust around the surface of tobacco drying equipment and room area, including portable heaters, racks, and vertical areas.”
OSHA’s probes of both facilities are ongoing, and the company has the opportunity to settle or appeal the citations, said OSHA spokesperson James Lally.
HotHead Grabba did not respond to questions from THE CITY sent on Thursday to its Instagram account, where an unidentified representative has previously responded to inquiries.
