Teen Boy's Death At Mississippi Poultry Plant Leads To $213,000 Fine

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration announced Tuesday that it planned to fine meat processor Mar-Jac Poultry nearly $213,000 following a teenager’s death at the company’s Hattiesburg, Mississippi, plant last year.

The 16-year-old boy was pulled into the rotating shaft of a machine while working on a cleaning crew in the plant’s deboning area July 14.

Although OSHA did not name him in the citation, at the time of his death the boy was widely reported to be Duvan Robert Tomas Perez of Hattiesburg. Perez would have entered the ninth grade last fall, according to his obituary .

Investigators found that Mar-Jac failed to follow what are known as “ lockout/tagout ” procedures to make sure that dangerous machinery is completely disabled. Mar-Jac had not used a lockout/tagout device “to prevent the machine from unintentionally starting during the cleaning,” OSHA said.

A separate investigation is underway by the Labor Department’s Wage and Hour Division to determine if Mar-Jac or a subcontractor violated child labor regulations.

OSHA fines are notoriously miniscule by law. The bulk of the $212,646 in fines against Mar-Jac came from 14 “serious” safety citations, which were capped at $15,625 apiece last year. OSHA did not identify any “willful” violations, which are more expensive (up to $156,259 each in 2023) but come with a higher burden of proof.

The fine amount could ultimately be lowered in a settlement between Mar-Jac and OSHA, and such cases often stay open for years due to litigation and appeals. The company has 15 days to dispute the penalty.

Mar-Jac, based in Gainesville, Georgia, did not immediately respond to a phone call seeking comment Tuesday.

In a statement several days after Perez’s death, the