Mar-Jac Poultry in MS faces scrutiny after organization names it to its Dirty Dozen list
A national occupational safety organization listed Mississippi's Mar-Jac Poultry as one of the most dangerous places in the U.S. to work, following the 2023 death of 16-year-old Duvan Perez.
The teen's death was just the tip of the iceberg for the Hattiesburg company, which has had eight OSHA-documented safety complaints in the last five years, including three fatalities.
"We need to have comprehensive programs where workers can speak to lesser injury rates, less violations around OSHA standards — there is quantifiable data," said Jessica Martinez, co-executive director of the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health.
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Perez's mother filed a wrongful death lawsuit in February, accusing the chicken processing plant and others of knowingly allowing the teen to work there and failing to protect his life by following safety procedures. The teen, an indigenous Mayan from Guatemala, was killed July 14, 2023, while sanitizing the deboning area of the plant.
Federal child labor laws prohibit anyone younger than 18 from working in any meat-processing plant. In addition, the lawsuit claims Perez was not properly trained, nor were protocols followed when Perez became entangled in the equipment.
Mar-Jac, and Onin Staffing, the company Mar-Jac officials said hired Perez, have denied any culpability in the teen's death.
In the court: Mar-Jac responds to wrongful death lawsuit filed by Hattiesburg teen's mother
National COSH announced its annual Dirty Dozen report during Workers' Memorial Week, which ended Saturday. A Zoom presentation Thursday featured workplace safety experts and Dirty Dozen employees who were harmed at their workplaces.
“We release the Dirty Dozen each year to shine a light on what’s going wrong in U.S. workplaces — and to support workers who are joining together to make it right,” Martinez said in a news release.
To get off the list, Martinez said, the companies must prove fewer work-related injuries and provide firsthand accounts from employees about any new safety- or health-related improvements.
“The latest data show an increase in workplace fatalities, injuries and illnesses,” Martinez said. “An increasing number of children are being assigned to dangerous jobs, and the reality of climate change is bringing the risk of extreme heat to both indoor and outdoor workplaces.”
What happened? Activists demand accountability in teen's death at Hattiesburg poultry plant
OSHA: Report says Mar-Jac violated safety procedures in Hattiesburg teen's death
The Dirty Dozen are selected by the National COSH team, with nominations from a network of COSH groups, workers, safety activists, union members, health and safety professionals and academic experts from across the country, National COSH said in a news release.
Criteria include the severity of risks to workers; repeat and serious violations of safety standards and applicable laws; the position of a company within its industry and the economy and its ability to influence broader workplace standards, and the presence of a campaign by workers or allies to correct health and safety problems.
This year’s National COSH Dirty Dozen includes:
Alabama Department of Corrections: Forced labor in Alabama prisons disproportionately targets Black men and women, who face hazardous conditions for $2 a day or less.
Ascension: Severe staff cuts create unsafe conditions for patients and workers at the nation’s largest Catholic healthcare system.
Black Iron/XL Concrete: One worker dies from electrocution; another loses a thumb at a company with 29 OSHA violations during the past decade.
Costa Farms: In 2021, a worker dies from heat exhaustion at a Costa Farms nursery in Miami. Two years later, company executives lobby against a Miami-Dade heat safety ordinance. In 2024, the Florida legislature bans all local heat protections.
Florence Hardwoods: 16-year old Michael Shuls is crushed to death inside a stalled conveyor at this lumber mill in northern Wisconsin. The company has been previously cited for failure to properly lock out and guard machinery.
Mar-Jac Poultry and Onin Staffing: Duvan Perez, an immigrant teenager is killed at this poultry firm, which has a troubling history of safety violations, including two prior fatalities.
Space X and the Boring Company: Workers suffer crushed limbs, amputations, chemical burns and death at companies owned by billionaire Elon Musk.
Tyson Foods: Six workers have died on the job at Tyson since 2019, and over 140 others have suffered injuries from hazardous ammonia leaks.
Uber and Lyft: Over 80 mobile app workers have been killed on the job since 2017, most of them working for Uber and Lyft. Workers of color and immigrants bear the brunt of these dangers, the report says.
Valor Security and Investigations: New York City firm is indicted for selling fake safety certificates, endangering workers who never receive training, including construction worker Ivan Frias, who fell to his death in 2022.
Waffle House: Restaurants in this 24-hour, 365-days-per-year chain “have developed a reputation as a hotbed for violence.”
Walmart: Janikka Perry, pressured to avoid taking sick time, dies alone and crying out for help in a Walmart bathroom.
To learn more
To read the full 2024 Dirty Dozen report, visit nationalcosh.org/Dirty_Dozen.
For more information, visit National COSH at nationalcosh.org.
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This article originally appeared on Hattiesburg American: Mar-Jac named a Dirty Dozen company by workers safety group
