OSHA reaches settlement with Marc-Jac Poultry following death of 16-year-old worker

OSHA has reached a settlement with Marc-Jac, Poultry, a poultry processing plant in Hattiesburg, requiring the company to pay a fine of $164,814.

In addition, the company is obliged to take enhanced safety measures to protect its employees from known machine hazards.

In January, OSHA found that on July 14, 2023, a contract worker from Onin Staffing, LLC was performing a thorough cleaning of the deboning area at the Mar-Jac Poultry MS, LLC facility. While disinfecting the machine while it was still energized, the teenager was caught by the rotating shaft and sprockets and pulled in, suffering fatal injuries.

Investigators found that despite the supervision of a manager in and around the area before and during the fatal incident, no lockout/tagout procedures were used to disconnect power to the machine, nor was a lockout/tagout device used to prevent inadvertent starting of the machine during cleanout.

In addition to reducing all Violations cited by OSHAMar-Jac Poultry MS LLC must implement the following improvements:

• Assign another appropriately trained supervisor to the cleaning shift.
• Provide up-to-date training to employees exposed to lockout/tagout and machine guarding hazards.
• Require the facility manager and safety representative to complete OSHA's 30-hour general industry training and require facility managers to complete OSHA's 10-hour training.
• Establish a system for assigning, identifying and issuing locks to authorized personnel performing lockout/tagout functions and update programs and training to meet this requirement.
• Conduct a risk and hazard assessment to evaluate the safety risks and hazards associated with the current lockout/tagout procedures for the cleaning shift. The assessment must include a review of all incidents, including near misses, injuries, and unexpected starts or malfunctions of machinery.
• Conduct monthly lockout/tagout safety audits for the cleaning shift for one year and provide evidence to OSHA, including steps the employer is taking to reduce hazards in response to the audits.

“Tragically, a teenager died needlessly before Mar-Jac Poultry took the necessary steps to protect its employees,” Kurt Petermeyer, OSHA's Atlanta regional director, said in a statement. “This settlement requires the company to commit to a safer work environment and take concrete steps to protect its employees from known hazards. Increased monitoring and more training can go a long way toward minimizing the risks employees face in meat processing plants.”