Turning 16 is a big deal for most teens. Their freedom expands to getting a driver’s license as they prepare for future opportunities and enjoy their summer. Those summers, however, can look drastically different for underage workers employed by meat processing plants. Tragically, one 16-year-old worker’s summer was cut short last week when a job at a Hattiesburg, Mississippi, poultry plant resulted in the loss of the underage worker’s life.
Reports indicate that the incident occurred around 8 p.m. July 14 while the boy was conducting sanitary operations. Another worker heard the boy cry for help, but by the time that other worker was able to do anything, it was already too late.
According to various news sources, Duvan Tomas Perez, a Guatemalan immigrant, had been hired at the Mar-Jac facility in Hattiesburg. The Fair Labor Standards Act lists sanitation of meat and poultry plant equipment as hazardous to workers under 18 working in poultry plants.
This is the third workers death at the Hattiesburg, MS Mar-Jac Plant since 2020. He was in 8th grade and his name was Duvan Perez.
by u/julezrulez1234567 in antiwork
In the company’s news release, complex manager Joe Colee expressed condolences on behalf of Mar-Jac Poultry to the teen’s family and friends.
“Our employees are our most valuable asset, and safety is our No. 1 priority,” Colee said. “We strive daily to work as safely as possible and are truly devastated whenever an employee is injured.”
Investigations are underway by multiple agencies, including the Hattiesburg police, the U.S. Department of Labor, the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration, and the Wage and Hour Division.
This isn’t the first incident at the Mar-Jac Poultry facility. Two other deaths have occurred at the Hattiesburg site since 2020, according to local media reports. OSHA cited the company in 2020 and 2021 for four safety violations in three separate incidents, prompting penalties totaling $52,355.
According to the Labor Department, child labor violations have increased since 2018. With more Guatemalan children working in the United States, a federal investigation was reported by NBC News as taking place across the country, specifically looking into violations in meatpacking and produce plants.
A growing issue, Wisconsin-based Packer Sanitation Services was fined $1.5 million in civil penalties earlier this year after 100 children were found working in unsafe and illegal conditions across eight states.
The Biden-Harris administration followed with a letter to the meat and poultry industry urging them to examine their supply chains for child labor infractions.
