$200,000 fine for Slaughterhouse found responsible for migrant teen’s death
A Mississippi meat processing plant, Mar-Jac Poultry, was found responsible for the death of a 16-year-old migrant teen worker who sustained fatal injuries when he was sucked into a deboning machine reports Independent. A child labor investigation has since been launched by The Department of Labor against the company.
Federal and state child labor laws failed to protect
In Mississippi, state labor laws ban minors from working in meat packing or in positions that involve processing meat or poultry. In addition, Federal labor law prohibits minors from operating and cleaning meat processing and packing equipment, classified as “particularly hazardous” by the U.S. Labor Department. So how did this happen?
OSHA Regional Administrator Kury Petermeyer said:
“The company’s inaction has directly led to this terrible tragedy, which has left so many to mourn this child’s preventable death.”