Current:Home > MarketsA 16-year-old died while working at a poultry plant in Mississippi -RiskWatch
A 16-year-old died while working at a poultry plant in Mississippi
View
Date:2025-04-12 20:29:39
A teenager died while working underage at a Mississippi poultry plant last week, the third accidental death at the facility in less than three years.
Sixteen-year-old Duvan Robert Tomas Perez died while on the job at the Mar-Jac Poultry plant in Hattiesburg, Miss., last Friday. Forrest County Deputy Coroner Lisa Klem confirmed the where and when of Perez's death, but said she couldn't release specific details at the request of the family.
In a press release obtained by NPR, Mar-Jac Poultry said that a sanitation employee at the plant suffered a fatal injury when he "became entangled" in the one of the machines he was cleaning. According to the statement, the plant immediately notified the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), and an investigation was launched with the company's full cooperation.
The statement did not mention Perez by name.
Immigrant Alliance for Justice and Equity (IAJE) spokesperson Jess Manrriquez told NPR that Perez and his family are indigenous Guatemalans who immigrated approximately six years ago.
"Workers are put in these conditions that are truly deplorable," Manrriquez said. "We've been hearing from folks on the ground that there is a lot of child labor that is happening at that poultry plant, so there's a lot that needs to be investigated. But right now, we just want to help the family through this process."
Lorena Quiroz, IAJE executive director, said in a written statement that the organization is asking OSHA and the Labor Department to conduct a statewide investigation to put an end to child labor and hazardous working conditions.
NPR reached out to OSHA for comment, but those calls went unreturned before publication.
Perez, who was going into the ninth grade, was too young to legally work at the plant, according to the Labor Department. Federal law requires workers to be at least 18 to work in meatpacking facilities due to the inherent dangers of the occupation.
Mar-Jac acknowledged in its statement that the employee was under 18 and never should have been hired.
"Mar-Jac MS would never knowingly put any employee, and certainly not a minor, in harm's way," the statement reads. "But it appears, at this point in the investigation, that this individual's age and identity were misrepresented on the paperwork."
The company said it's conducting a thorough audit with staffing companies used to bring on employees to ensure an incident like this "never happens again."
This was the third death at the Mar-Jac plant in less than three years. According to an open OSHA case, a staff member died as a result of "horse play" in December 2020. The Associated Press reported at the time that Joel Velasco Toto, 33, died from "abdominal and pelvic trauma caused by a compressed air injury."
Less than seven months later, Mississippi's WDAM 7 reported that 28-year-old Bobby Butler died in an accident involving heavy machinery in May 2021.
veryGood! (1)
Related
- Justice Department, Louisville reach deal after probe prompted by Breonna Taylor killing
- Hurricane Michael Hit the Florida Panhandle in 2018 With 155 MPH Winds. Some Black and Low-Income Neighborhoods Still Haven’t Recovered
- Hurricane Michael Hit the Florida Panhandle in 2018 With 155 MPH Winds. Some Black and Low-Income Neighborhoods Still Haven’t Recovered
- Election skeptics may follow Tucker Carlson out of Fox News
- Whoopi Goldberg is delightfully vile as Miss Hannigan in ‘Annie’ stage return
- Warming Trends: Nature and Health Studies Focused on the Privileged, $1B for Climate School and Old Tires Detour Into Concrete
- Why zoos can't buy or sell animals
- Prince William got a 'very large sum' in a Murdoch settlement in 2020
- Louvre will undergo expansion and restoration project, Macron says
- Great Scott! 30 Secrets About Back to the Future Revealed
Ranking
- South Korean president's party divided over defiant martial law speech
- Hurry to Charlotte Tilbury's Massive Summer Sale for 40% Off Deals on Pillow Talk, Flawless Filter & More
- The racial work gap for financial advisors
- Should EPA Back-Off Pollution Controls to Help LNG Exports Replace Russian Gas in Germany?
- Why Sean "Diddy" Combs Is Being Given a Laptop in Jail Amid Witness Intimidation Fears
- Climate Change Remains a Partisan Issue in Georgia Elections
- Climate Change Remains a Partisan Issue in Georgia Elections
- California Passed a Landmark Law About Plastic Pollution. Why Are Some Environmentalists Still Concerned?
Recommendation
Military service academies see drop in reported sexual assaults after alarming surge
Ahead of COP27, New Climate Reports are Warning Shots to a World Off Course
Our final thoughts on the influencer industry
Eastwind Books, an anchor for the SF Bay Area's Asian community, shuts its doors
Retirement planning: 3 crucial moves everyone should make before 2025
Warming Trends: Laughing About Climate Change, Fighting With Water and Investigating the Health Impacts of Fracking
Blast Off With These Secrets About Apollo 13
FERC Says it Will Consider Greenhouse Gas Emissions and ‘Environmental Justice’ Impacts in Approving New Natural Gas Pipelines