TRLA Seeks Federal Inspection of Panhandle Meatpacking Plant to Safeguard Workers Endangered By COVID-19
Contact:
Robert Elder, TRLA Communications Director
512-374-2764, relder@trla.org
CACTUS, Texas – Texas RioGrande Legal Aid (TRLA) filed a complaint with the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to inspect the JBS USA Inc. meatpacking plant north of Amarillo on the grounds its workers continue to be at imminent risk of contracting COVID-19.
TRLA has also filed a complaint with the Texas Department of Insurance contesting JBS' decision to deny access to worker's compensation for employees who contracted COVID-19 in the workplace.
TRLA filed the OSHA complaint on May 29 on behalf of workers in the plant, including a current JBS employee who tested positive for COVID-19 on April 11. The worker was hospitalized and has since recovered, although he suffered lost wages and had to use his private disability insurance.
The JBS plant, which employs approximately 3,000 people, is part of a growing cluster of COVID-19 cases associated with meatpacking facilities in the Panhandle.
"Cactus, Texas, and JBS are making national news due to the rapid spread of coronavirus in this small, close-knit community," said TRLA attorney Chris Benoit. "JBS's workforce is at the forefront of supplying food for people across the country. JBS needs to fulfill its responsibility by ensuring proper safety protocols in the workplace."
As of May 11, state health officials identified 323 people who had tested positive for the coronavirus in cases tied to the JBS plant, which is in Cactus, in Moore County.
Despite the high rates of infections tied to the plant, OSHA has so far not conducted an inspection of the facility in response to the complaint.
JBS has dozens of U.S. plants. At least seven have had COVID-19 outbreaks in 2020, with at least four worker deaths.
"No one is disposable during this pandemic," said TRLA attorney Daniela Dwyer. "Immigrants and communities of color are some of the most at risk for coronavirus yet are working on the frontlines in some of the worst conditions. JBS should address workplace safety immediately, especially as we see COVID-19 on the rise in Texas."
The Cactus plant operates under the Swift Beef Co. Brand. According to the complaint, the JBS plant in Cactus has failed to follow the Interim Guidance that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and OSHA issued in April for meat and poultry processing workers and employers.
JBS' failure to implement the interim guidance or otherwise protect workers at the Cactus plant has facilitated the spread of COVID-19, according to the complaint.
Violations of the interim guidance cited in the request for an immediate OSHA inspection include:
JBS is not implementing contact tracing, or a system to identify the person-to-person spread of the coronavirus. For example, when one employee contracted the virus in April, neither he nor his colleagues were told they were at risk of exposure in the plant. When the employee became ill, JBS forced him to use his own private short-term disability insurance to supplement his income while he was in self-isolation for three weeks.
JBS does not space workers six or more feet apart while they work on the slaughter line. Workers on the line are separated by partitions when standing on the line but are still standing shoulder to shoulder.
JBS is not social distancing when workers enter and leave the facility or are off the production line. Workers report that they crowd together when clocking in and out because they are required to do so at specific times.
Workers report that breaks are not staggered. During the day shift, there is one 15-minute break where every worker in the facility – including more than 700 in one section – are on break at the same time. This results in overcrowding of restrooms, breakrooms, and the cafeteria.
Some employees at the JBS plant live more than an hour from the Cactus plant and take a company bus to the facility. JBS provides workers masks and takes their temperature, but workers are still seated in every row of the bus, less than six feet from each other.
The complaint asked OSHA to conduct an immediate inspection and interview workers privately "so it can understand the full range of hazards the employees face."
Texas RioGrande Legal Aid provides free legal services to people who cannot afford an attorney in 68 southwestern counties including the entire Texas-Mexico border. TRLA attorneys specialize in more than 45 areas of the law, including disaster assistance, family, employment, foreclosure, bankruptcy, landlord-tenant, housing, education, immigration, farmworker, and civil rights. Our hotline is open from 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. (CST) Monday – Friday: (956) 996-8752.