A Mississippi poultry processing plant has reached a settlement with the U.S. Department of Labor that will require the company to pay $164,814 in fines and implement stricter safety measures following the death of a 16-year-old boy at the plant.
HATTIESBURG, Madam — A Mississippi poultry processing plant has reached a settlement with the U.S. Department of Labor that will require the company to pay a $164,814 fine and implement stricter safety measures after the death of a 16-year-old boy in the institution.
The agreement, announced in a press release Friday, follows an investigation of Mar-Jac Poultry by the department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration into the death of an underage worker who was pulled into a machine when they cleaned it on July 14, 2023.
“Tragically, a teenage boy died needlessly before Mar-Jac Poultry took the necessary steps to protect its workers,” said OSHA Regional Administrator Kurt Petermeyer in Atlanta. “This settlement requires the company to commit to a safer work environment and take concrete steps to protect its workers from known hazards. Enhanced oversight and training can go a long way toward minimizing risks to workers in meatpacking facilities.”
“Mar-Jac has been aware of these safety issues for years and has been warned and fined by OSHA, but has done nothing. Hopefully, Mar-Jac will follow through this time so that no other worker is killed in such a senseless manner,” said Jim Reeves, attorney for the victim’s family. told WHLT-TV.
The victim’s family filed a lawsuit against Mar-Jac Poultry MS, LLC and Onin Staffing earlier this year. The lawsuit alleges that Perez was killed because Mar-Jac ignored safety precautions and failed to turn off machinery during cleanup. The lawsuit also alleges that Onin Staffing was negligent in allowing the 16-year-old to work illegally at the plant.
Mar-Jac Poultry, headquartered in Gainesville, Georgia, has been raising live birds for poultry production at facilities in Alabama, Georgia and Mississippi for food service customers in the U.S. and internationally since 1954, the DOL news release said.
A call to the company Friday seeking comment on the settlement was not returned.