Current:Home > Scams16-year-old dies while operating equipment at Mississippi poultry plant-LoTradeCoin
16-year-old dies while operating equipment at Mississippi poultry plant
View Date:2024-12-23 16:31:10
A 16-year-old boy died on Friday while operating equipment at a poultry plant in Mississippi, officials said.
The incident happened at the Mar-Jac Poultry processing plant in Hattiesburg, a city located about 90 miles southeast of Jackson. Hattiesburg is in Forrest County.
Forrest County Coroner Butch Benedict confirmed preliminary details about the incident to CBS News on Wednesday morning, including the boy's age and the general circumstances surrounding his death. Benedict did not identify the teenager. He said a definitive cause of death would be determined by a pathologist after evaluating results of an autopsy, which he believed was performed on Tuesday. The death was likely trauma-related, Benedict added. An official report is expected within several days.
Guatemalan media have identified the teenager as Duvan Pérez, and said he moved to Mississippi from Huispache, in Guatemala, as NBC affiliate WDAM reported.
Mar-Jac Poultry is a poultry production company headquartered in Gainesville, Georgia, its website states. The plant in Hattiesburg handles poultry processing and poultry slaughter, according to the U.S. Food and Inspection Service, which notes that the plant received its mandatory federal inspection grant in April 2022.
The teenager who died last week was a sanitation employee at the plant, Mar-Jac Poultry said in a news release obtained by CBS News. He died from injuries sustained in an accident while conducting sanitation operations on Friday evening, according to the company.
"We deeply regret the loss and send our most sincere condolences to his family and friends," Mar-Jac Poultry said in the release. It included a statement from Joe Colee, the complex manager, which read: "Our employees are our most valuable asset and safety is our number one priority. We strive daily to work as safely as possible and are truly devastated whenever an employee is injured."
Mar-Jac Poultry said it is cooperating with an investigation by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration into the boy's death and "any issues identified in the investigation will be corrected immediately."
"Mar-Jac Poultry MS LLC has a comprehensive safety program and conducts extensive and regular training to ensure safe working conditions for all employees," the company said. "Our prayers go out to the employee's family, friends, and co-workers."
Both OSHA and the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division, the office responsible for enforcing federal labor laws, have opened investigations into the Mar-Jac Poultry plant in Hattiesburg, a spokesperson for the Labor Department told CBS News. The department does not have additional information to share at this time, the spokesperson said.
Anyone younger than 18 is banned from working at slaughtering and meat packing plants, and from operating or cleaning any power-driven machinery related to that field, under federal child labor laws that classify those kinds of jobs as too hazardous for minors. The laws prohibit minors from operating "power-driven meat processing machines, such as meat slicers, saws and meat choppers, wherever used (including restaurants and delicatessens)," and from "cleaning such equipment, including the hand-washing of the disassembled machine parts," according to a fact sheet issued by the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division.
"This ban also includes the use of this machinery on items other than meat, such as cheese and vegetables," the fact sheet says, adding that the ban also applies to "most jobs in meat and poultry slaughtering, processing, rendering, and packing establishments."
Child labor violations in the U.S. are up 283% since 2015, according to a recent report by the Department of Labor. Those findings came as more than a dozen legislatures passed laws to loosen child labor restrictions in their states.
Authorities in Forrest County told CBS News that the Hattiesburg Police Department responded to the incident at Mar-Jac Poultry on Friday. CBS News contacted the police department for more information but has not yet received replies.
- In:
- Child Labor Regulations
- Mississippi
veryGood! (87)
Related
- US Congress hopes to 'pull back the curtain' on UFOs in latest hearing: How to watch
- Toyota recall: What to know about recall of nearly 2 million RAV4 SUVs
- Six Flags, Cedar Fair merge to form $8 billion company in major amusement park deal
- Texas Rangers beat Arizona Diamondbacks to claim their first World Series
- Watch out, Temu: Amazon Haul, Amazon's new discount store, is coming for the holidays
- Ole Miss to offer medical marijuana master's degree: Educating the workforce will lead to 'more informed consumer'
- Connecticut police officer who stunned shoplifting suspect 3 times charged with assault
- 2034 World Cup would bring together FIFA’s president and Saudi Arabia’s Prince Mohammed
- USMNT Concacaf Nations League quarterfinal Leg 1 vs. Jamaica: Live stream and TV, rosters
- Jessica Simpson Has the Perfect Response to Madison LeCroy's Newlyweds Halloween Costume
Ranking
- Army veteran reunites with his K9 companion, who served with him in Afghanistan
- 'Yellowstone' final episodes moved to Nov. 2024; Paramount announces two spinoff series
- King Charles to acknowledge painful aspects of U.K., Kenya's shared past on visit to the African nation
- Biden’s handling of the Israel-Hamas war is a political test in South Florida’s Jewish community
- Alexandra Daddario Shares Candid Photo of Her Postpartum Body 6 Days After Giving Birth
- As his minutes pile up, LeBron James continues to fuel Lakers. Will it come at a cost?
- `Worse than people can imagine’: Medicaid `unwinding’ breeds chaos in states
- Uber and Lyft to pay $328M in New York wage theft settlement
Recommendation
-
DWTS’ Ilona Maher and Alan Bersten Have the Best Reaction to Fans Hoping for a Romance
-
'Succession' star Alan Ruck's car crashes into pizza shop and 2 cars: Reports
-
15-year-old pregnant horse fatally shot after escaping NY pasture; investigation underway
-
Florida babysitter who attempted to circumcise 2-year-old boy charged with child abuse
-
24 more monkeys that escaped from a South Carolina lab are recovered unharmed
-
Gerry Turner explains his wild lion tattoo before 'Golden Bachelor' heads to hometowns
-
Man indicted on conspiracy charge in alleged scheme involving Arizona Medicaid-funded facility
-
No evidence of mechanical failure in plane crash that killed North Dakota lawmaker, report says