Democrats Probe Tyson, Smithfield, OSHA Over Covid Outbreaks
- Investigation will look into safety measures at meat plants
- Democrats ask OSHA to explain why more fines were not issued
The Smithfield Foods plant in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
Photographer: Dan Brouillette/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
A Democratic-led House panel is launching a probe into coronavirus outbreaks at meatpacking plants and whether the Occupational Safety and Health Administration adequately enforced worker safety rules.
Representative James Clyburn, who chairs the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis, sent letters Monday to Tyson Foods Inc., Smithfield Foods Inc., and JBS USA requesting information on the number of sick employees, facility closures, safety measures and leave policies for when workers tested positive. Almost 54,000 workers at 569 meatpacking plants in the U.S. have tested positive for Covid-19, and at least 270 have died, Clyburn said in the letters.