Poultry plant slapped by feds after underage worker dies in deboning machine mishap

A Mississippi poultry plant where an underage worker violently died after being pulled into machinery over the summer is entirely responsible for the horrifying incident, federal regulators ruled after an investigation.

“Disregarded safety standards” at the Mar-Jac Poultry plant in Hattiesburg directly led to the death of Duvan Tomas Perez in July, investigators from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration ruled last week.

“Mar-Jac Poultry is aware of how dangerous the machinery they use can be when safety standards are not in place to prevent serious injury and death,” OSHA Regional Administrator Kurt Petermeyer said in a statement.

“The company’s inaction has directly led to this terrible tragedy, which has left so many to mourn this child’s preventable death.”

Perez, a 16-year-old Guatemalan immigrant who had been in the US for about 6 years, was cleaning out a deboning machine at the Mar-Jac plant on July 14 when it suddenly activated and drew him in.

“The teen was caught in the rotating shaft and sprockets and pulled in, sustaining fatal injuries,” the OSHA report said.

Investigators found that contrary to proper protocol, the machine had not been disconnected from power before cleaning began, and that a failsafe device intended to prevent the machine from turning on during cleaning was not in use.

Those basic safety measures were not observed despite a supervisor being present before and during the cleaning, according to OSHA.

Perez’s death was the second fatal accident resulting from improper safety precautions at the Mar-Jac plant in two years.

In 2021, an employee died after their sleeve became caught in machinery, fatally pinning the worker alongside the machine.

“Following the fatal incident in May 2021 Mar-Jac Poultry should have enforced strict safety standards in its facility,” Petermeyer said.

“Only about two years later nothing has changed and the company continues to treat employee safety as an afterthought, putting its workers at risk. No worker should be placed in a preventable, dangerous situation, let alone a child,” he added.

Mar-Jac was fined $212,646 in penalties for Perez’s death.

It is unclear whether Mar-Jac will also face fines for violating Mississippi labor laws, which prohibit children under 18 from working in poultry plants due to the associated dangers.

Mar-Jac did not respond to requests for comment.

“Our employees are our family and we constantly strive to provide them with a safe and pleasant working environment,” the Mar-Jac website reads.

“Whether it’s providing ice cream parties for employees or other social events, we realize what an invaluable asset our employees represent.”