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Poultry Plant to Pay $164K After Fatality
Department of Labor reaches settlement with facility to enhance safety measures after 16-year-old suffers fatal injuries.
1 Min Read
The U.S. Department of Labor has reached a settlement agreement with the Mar-Jac Poultry processing plant in Hattiesburg, MS that requires the company to pay $164,814 in fines and implement enhanced safety measuresJoe Raedle/Getty Images
The U.S. Department of Labor has reached a settlement agreement with the Mar-Jac Poultry processing plant in Hattiesburg, MS that requires the company to pay $164,814 in fines and implement enhanced safety measures to protect employees from machine hazards.
The agreement follows an investigation by the department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) into the company’s failure to use required safety procedures that would have kept a teenaged worker from being fatally caught in a machine as it was being cleaned in July 2023.
Mar-Jac Poultry MS LLC must implement the following enhancements:
Add another properly trained supervisor to the sanitation shift
Provide workers exposed to lockout/tagout and machine guarding hazards with updated training
Require the plant’s manager and safety director to complete OSHA’s 30-hour general industry training and plant supervisors to complete OSHA’s 10-hour training
Institute a system for assigning, identifying and issuing locks to authorized employees performing lockout/tagout functions and update programs and training to reflect this requirement
Conduct a risk and hazard assessment to evaluate the safety exposures and hazards associated with current lockout/tagout procedures for the sanitation shift. The assessment must include a review of any incidents, including near misses, injuries and unexpected start-ups or malfunctions of machinery.
Perform monthly lockout/tagout safety audits for the sanitation shift for one year and provide proof to OSHA, including what steps the employer is taking to reduce hazards in response to the audits
“Tragically, a teenage boy died needlessly before Mar-Jac Poultry took required steps to protect its workers,” said OSHA regional administrator Kurt Petermeyer. “This settlement demands the company commit to a safer workplace environment and take tangible actions to protect their employees from well-known hazards. Enhanced supervision and increased training can go a long way toward minimizing risks faced by workers in meat processing facilities.”
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