A nearly two-year investigation by The Charlotte Observer revealed that one of the country's biggest poultry producers, House of Raeford Farms, covered up injuries and dimissed workers' request for medical care, clearing in violation of workers' compensation laws.
Reporters spent 22 months investigating the poultry industry in North Carolina and South Carolina, interviewing more than 200 workers and reviewing thousands of documents. They found that between 80 percent to 90 percent of the workforce at some plants is Latino and that is by design. As one plant employment superviser told a reporter, she was encouraged to hire Latinos because they are likely to complain and report their injuries.
House of Raeford is clearly violating the spirit of the state's workers' compensation laws.
"The company has compiled misleading injury reports and has defied regulators as it satisfies a growing appetite for America's most popular meat. And employees say the company has ignored, intimidated or fired workers who were hurt on the job. "
Among the findings of the Charlotte Observer series, called the Cruelest Cuts:
• House of Raeford's 800-worker plant in West Columbia, S.C., reported no musculoskeletal disorders over four years. Experts say that's inconceivable. MSDs, including carpal tunnel syndrome, are the most common work-related injuries afflicting poultry workers.
• Its Greenville, S.C., plant has boasted of a five-year safety streak with no lost-time accidents. But the plant kept that streak alive by bringing injured employees back to the factory hours after surgery.
• The company has broken the law by failing to record injuries on government safety logs, a top OSHA official says.
• At four of the company's largest Carolinas plants, company first-aid attendants and supervisors have dismissed some workers' requests to see a doctor -- even when they complained of debilitating pain.
Our journalists found evidence that House of Raeford has failed to report serious injuries, including broken bones and carpal tunnel syndrome. They discovered that plant officials often dismissed workers' requests for medical care that would cost the company money.
22 months, interviewed more than 200 poultry workers, many of them Latinos.
