Worker abuse and injuries occur in more places than industrial plants and construction sites. Last week, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration fined Farm Fresh Foods $30,000 for violating worker safety violation standards. This post will go over the extent of the safety violations and how workers were harmed by their employers.
Third shift janitors (night shift) were regularly subjected to dangerous conditions are the chicken processing plant that resulted in injuries and illnesses. Workers were regularly required to clean the facility without protective gear or sufficient breaks to avoid the dangerous fumes, such as bleach.
Additionally, once their cleaning duties were accomplished, they were often required to work on the raw chickens. Night managers would force their workers to break down raw chickens for processing the following morning.
Additionally, the facility only provided four bathrooms for hundreds of employees. The company also severely punished workers who took too long in the bathrooms and forced workers to wear diapers on the job, rather than give them bathroom breaks.
A serious problem with these violations is that tired and abused workers make mistakes. Those mistakes decrease worker safety, increase the number of injuries, and lower the quality of the product being sent out.
As this story illustrates, many employers do not have the safety of their workers as a priority. In fact, for many of them, it isn't even a concern compared to efficiency or profit. If you believe that it is possible you or a coworker could suffer a workplace injury, sometimes the only person who can make a difference is the one in the trenches. An attorney can help you get compensation for your workplace injuries, regardless if they were caused by negligent safety procedures or not.
Source: The Guardian, "Workers describe rampant abuse at Alabama chicken processing plant," Sam Thielman, December 22, 2016
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