Current:Home > ScamsMississippi poultry plant settles with OSHA after teen’s 2023 death -MoneyBase
Mississippi poultry plant settles with OSHA after teen’s 2023 death
View
Date:2025-04-13 06:32:23
HATTIESBURG, Miss. (AP) — A Mississippi poultry processing plant has agreed to a settlement with the U.S. Department of Labor that requires it to pay $164,814 in fines and put in place enhanced safety measures following the death of a 16-year-old boy at the facility.
The agreement, announced Friday in a news release, comes after an investigation of Mar-Jac Poultry by the department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration into the death of an underaged worker who was pulled into a machine as they cleaned it July 14, 2023.
“Tragically, a teenage boy died needlessly before Mar-Jac Poultry took required steps to protect its workers,” said OSHA Regional Administrator Kurt Petermeyer in Atlanta. “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.”
“Mar-Jac was aware of these safety problems for years and had been warned and fined by OSHA, yet did nothing. Hopefully, Mar-Jac will follow through this time so that no other worker is killed in such a senseless manner,” Jim Reeves, an attorney for the victim’s family, told WHLT-TV.
The victim’s family sued Mar-Jac Poultry MS, LLC, and Onin Staffing earlier this year. The lawsuit alleges that Perez was killed due to Mar-Jac ignoring safety regulations and not turning off machinery during sanitation. The suit also claims Onin Staffing was negligent in illegally assigning the 16-year-old to work at the plant.
Headquartered in Gainesville, Georgia, Mar-Jac Poultry has raised live birds for poultry production since 1954 at facilities in Alabama, Georgia and Mississippi for food service customers in the U.S and abroad, the DOL’s news release said.
A telephone call Friday to the company seeking comment about the settlement was not answered.
veryGood! (8924)
Related
- 'Vanderpump Rules' star DJ James Kennedy arrested on domestic violence charges
- Why Olivia Rodrigo Fans Think Her Song The Grudge Is About an Alleged Feud With Taylor Swift
- A North Dakota man was sentenced to 5 years in prison for running over and killing a teen last year
- 'The Long Island Serial Killer': How cell phone evidence led to a suspect in 3 cases
- The Grammy nominee you need to hear: Esperanza Spalding
- Disney temporarily lowers price of Disney+ subscription to $1.99
- FAA looks to require cockpit technology to reduce close calls
- Time off 'fueled a fire' as Naomi Osaka confirms 2024 return months after giving birth
- Rolling Loud 2024: Lineup, how to stream the world's largest hip hop music festival
- Migrant girl, 3, on bus from Texas died of pneumonia, intestinal disease, autopsy finds
Ranking
- South Korea's acting president moves to reassure allies, calm markets after Yoon impeachment
- Hong Kong closes schools as torrential rain floods streets, subway station
- Heat hits New England, leading to school closures, early dismissals
- This $22 Longline Sports Bra Doubles as a Workout Top and It Has 20,300+ 5-Star Reviews
- Why we love Bear Pond Books, a ski town bookstore with a French bulldog 'Staff Pup'
- This week on Sunday Morning (September 10)
- Prison guard on duty when convicted murderer escaped fired amid manhunt
- Russian missile attack kills policeman, injures 44 others in Zelenskyy’s hometown in central Ukraine
Recommendation
Pressure on a veteran and senator shows what’s next for those who oppose Trump
13 reasons why Detroit Lions will beat Kansas City Chiefs on Thursday
Capitol rioter who carried zip-tie handcuffs in viral photo is sentenced to nearly 5 years in prison
Danny Masterson sentenced to 30 years to life for rape convictions
Trump invites nearly all federal workers to quit now, get paid through September
Cash App, Square users report payment issues amid service outage
Jimmy Fallon's 'Tonight Show' accused of creating a toxic workplace in new report
Danelo Cavalcante has eluded police for 9 days now. What will it take for him to get caught?