OSHA, Department of Labor seek employee input after teen's death at Mar-Jac in Hattiesburg
Authorities with the U.S. Department of Labor are looking to Mar-Jac Poultry employees for information about the workplace that could help them in their investigation into the death of 16-year-old Duvan Perez.
Perez, an indigenous Mayan from Guatemala, was killed July 14 during a workplace accident at Mar-Jac Poultry in Hattiesburg.
"As federal investigators continue to try to understand how a 16-year-old died at the Mar-Jac Poultry plant in Hattiesburg, we are asking current Mar-Jac employees for their assistance," OSHA Jackson Area Director Courtney Bohannon said in a news release.
"Federal law protects the rights of workers to participate in a U.S. Department of Labor investigation and forbids employers from interfering in any way, including by retaliating against an employee who does. With help from Mar-Jac's workers, we can make sure the employer provides a safer environment for everyone who works there."
The Associated Press reported in an earlier story it had obtained records that indicated Perez was working on a sanitation crew at Mar-Jac when he became entangled in a conveyor belt he was cleaning. Anyone under the age of 18 is prohibited by federal child labor laws from working certain jobs at any meat-processing plant.
Mar-Jac officials blamed an unnamed staffing company for hiring Perez to work at the plant and said Perez’s paperwork appeared to misrepresent his age, according to the Associated Press.
Following Perez's death, the Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration and Wage and Hour Division opened workplace safety and child labor investigations at Mar-Jac Poultry plant.
The administration obtained a warrant from the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi, which allows OSHA access to the Mar-Jac facility, OSHA officials said in a news release. Federal officials also are able to question any employer, operator, agent or employee privately and review records related to the operation and maintenance of the equipment involved in the incident.
"Child labor laws exist to safeguard young workers from tragedies like the one that happened at the Mar-Jac Poultry plant," said Wage and Hour Division District Director Audrey Hall. "To fully protect workers, we need information from employees and the community at large."
OSHA representatives are working with local community groups to establish trust with workers and their families and collaborating with advocacy groups, such as the Immigrant Alliance for Justice and Equity of Mississippi, to contact immigrant workers who are afraid of retaliation.
Do you work at Mar-Jac?
If you are an employee at the Mar-Jac Poultry plant in Hattiesburg who may have relevant information to provide investigators, you may contact OSHA at 855-321-6742 or the Jackson Area Office at 601-965-4606.
Callers can speak confidentially, if requested. Plant workers also may submit a confidential complaint at osha.gov/workers/file-complaint.
Reports also may be made confidentially to the Wage and Hour Division at 866-487-9243 to file a complaint or share information confidentially
Spanish-speaking workers may contact the Employment Education and Outreach Alliance hotline at 877-522-9832 to speak to someone confidentially.
This article originally appeared on Hattiesburg American: OSHA seeks employees to talk after Hattiesburg teen's death at Mar-Jac
