Representative Clyburn seems to agree. In his letter to OSHA, he points out that this use of the general duty clause led to extremely low fines, citing the example of Sioux Falls, a South Dakota Smithfield plant, where nearly 1,300 employees fell ill and four died. Clyburn points out that the $ 13,494 fine Smithfield received for a breach of the general duty clause at that factory totaled less than $ 11 for illness, or less than $ 3,400 for preventable death – shocking numbers previously pointed out by The Counter in its investigation.
By requiring OSHA to preserve all documents “related to the training and guidance that OSHA provides inspectors to identify a breach of the general duty clause by an employer”, it appears that the Subcommittee would like to know more about why this low legal resource level was sought, and not something more in line with the scale of the problem. As our investigation points out, OSHA has refused to use all of the options at its disposal, including setting a temporary emergency standard that would define the requirements for how factories should protect workers.
Clyburn’s letter also calls on OSHA to set a temporary emergency standard, citing the dire need to protect food industry workers in high-risk environments until more vaccines are available (and something that safety advocates at the workplace have been asking since last spring).
Smithfield Foods has not yet responded to a request for comment. Both Tyson Foods and JBS provided The Counter with statements that defended the actions they took to protect worker safety during the pandemic.
“Our priority will always be the health and safety of our people, and we look forward to working with the congressional committee to share what we have done and continue to do to protect our team members from coronavirus,” wrote a spokesman. from Tyson in an email. “We invested more than half a billion dollars during the pandemic to transform our facilities in the United States with protective measures, from temperature scanners and workstation dividers to remote social monitors and additional compensation and benefits for team members. In addition, we have added a Medical Director to help us protect and improve the health of our workforce. We are also using random tests as a tool to find the virus, testing thousands of workers a week, both symptomatic and asymptomatic. This strategy allowed us to move from defense to attack in our efforts to fight the virus ”.
JBS also said it welcomed the Subcommittee’s investigation. “Since the beginning of the pandemic, JBS USA has invested more than US $ 200 million in health and safety interventions, more than US $ 160 million in bonuses and a permanent increase in salaries, and donated more than US $ 50 million to support our communities. local, ”a spokesman told The Contador, by email. “We have implemented hundreds of security measures, including unlimited supply of PPE, construction of permanent physical barriers, establishment of physical distance protocols and installation of hospital-level ventilation systems in all of our facilities. JBS USA provides immediate testing for all symptomatic team members and close contacts, and has conducted more than 45,000 surveillance tests for asymptomatic team members to date. In addition to the hundreds of security measures implemented in our facilities, we voluntarily remove vulnerable population groups with full payment and benefits, we cover 100% of all COVID-19 related health expenses for members of our team and family members enrolled in our plan health insurance, and offered a $ 100 incentive bonus to any member of the US team who wished to be vaccinated. ”
In an executive action last month, President Joe Biden ordered OSHA to consider setting temporary emergency standards. He gave the agency a February 4 deadline to issue a revised set of security guidelines.