Current:Home > StocksA 16-year-old died while working at a poultry plant in Mississippi-LoTradeCoin
A 16-year-old died while working at a poultry plant in Mississippi
View Date:2024-12-23 23:19:37
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! (7367)
Related
- West Virginia governor-elect Morrisey to be sworn in mid-January
- Man who put another on death row now says the accused is innocent. | The Excerpt
- A Black man says a trucking company fired him because he couldn’t cut off his dreadlocks
- Donald Trump suggests ‘one rough hour’ of policing will end theft
- Arkansas governor unveils $102 million plan to update state employee pay plan
- 32 things we learned in NFL Week 4: One NFC team separating from the pack?
- MLB ditching All-Star Game uniforms, players will wear team jerseys
- National Taco Day deals 2024: $1 tacos at Taco Bell, freebies at Taco John's, more
- Shel Talmy, produced hits by The Who, The Kinks and other 1960s British bands, dead at 87
- Is 'The Simpsons' ending? Why the show aired its 'series finale' Sunday
Ranking
- Ex-Phoenix Suns employee files racial discrimination, retaliation lawsuit against the team
- 'THANK YOU SO MUCH': How social media is helping locate the missing after Helene
- Biltmore Estate: What we know in the aftermath of Helene devastation in Asheville
- Judge in Alaska sets aside critical habitat designation for threatened bearded, ringed seals
- Jana Kramer’s Ex Mike Caussin Shares Resentment Over Her Child Support Payments
- Angelina Jolie Drops Legal Case Over 2016 Brad Pitt Plane Incident
- Buffalo’s longest-serving mayor is leaving City Hall for a betting agency
- Anna Delvey Claims Dancing With the Stars Was Exploitative and Predatory
Recommendation
-
Jessica Simpson’s Sister Ashlee Simpson Addresses Eric Johnson Breakup Speculation
-
Water samples tested after Maine firefighting foam spill, below guidelines for dangerous chemicals
-
Major League Baseball scraps criticized All-Star Game uniforms and goes back to team jerseys
-
Mazda, Toyota, Harley-Davidson, GM among 224,000 vehicles recalled: Check car recalls here
-
Horoscopes Today, November 11, 2024
-
Dikembe Mutombo, NBA Center Legend, Dead at 58 After Cancer Battle
-
Golden State Valkyries expansion draft: WNBA sets date, rules for newest team
-
Trump slams US response to Helene, even as supporters urge cutbacks to federal disaster agencies