Food company employees — from field workers to grocery store clerks — are on the front lines of food safety efforts but are sometimes reluctant to speak up about problems because they fear retaliation. 
A new rule, published Monday in the Federal Register, defines whistleblower protections for employees who
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Ohio Poultry Processor Faces $861,500 in Fines From OSHA
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited an Ohio poultry processing facility operated by Case Farms Processing Inc. for two willful, 20 repeat, 30 serious, and three other-than-serious safety and health violations. The country’s 13th-largest supplier of chicken, whose customers include national fast-food and
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OSHA Proposes $38K Fine for Chicken Processor Over Worker Injuries
Following an inspection of a Delaware poultry plant, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) found nine worker-related safety violations and proposed a penalty of $38,000. According to OSHA, the poultry processor, Allen Harim Foods LLC in Harbeson, DE, has been exposing poultry plant workers
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144 Food Industry Employees Filed FSMA Whistleblower Complaints From 2011-2014
Food industry employees have been using the whistleblower protections provided under the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) ever since it was signed into law, according to the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). 
OSHA reports that it has received 144 whistleblower complaints under FSMA, beginning with
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Judge Upholds OSHA Citations Against NY-Based Chicken Processor
A judge has upheld citations for a NY-based chicken processor found to be violating rules related to chemical and mechanical hazards for workers. The citations were issued by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA). Murray’s Chicken, of South Fallsburg, NY, was cited in May 2012
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Inter-American Commission on Human Rights Hears Testimony on Poultry Worker Safety
The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights heard testimony Tuesday that worker safety in the U.S. meatpacking and poultry industries could be compromised by pending rule changes at the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), along with the Midwest Coalition for Human Rights and the Nebraska Appleseed
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Food Manufacturers Told to Prepare For FSMA Whistleblower Protection
Employment and labor law firm Littler Mendelson is advising food manufacturers to be prepared for new whistleblower protections under the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA). The San Francisco, CA-based firm issued a client alert last month after the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) published its interim final rule regarding
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OSHA Issues Interim Final Rule on FSMA Whistleblower Protections
On Wednesday, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) posted its interim final rule regarding the employee protection (whistleblower) provision of the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) to the Federal Register. Section 402 of the act ensures that employees of an “entity engaged in the manufacture, processing, packing, transporting,
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USDA’s Poultry Proposal Endangers Eaters, Not Just Employees
Ever hear the one about how the well‐dressed accomplice caused a scene at the front door of the bank, while the masked robbers snuck in through the back and made off with the loot? Let that be a lesson to us: when we all train our eyes in one direction,
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Can We Talk Turkey?
On April 24, 2013, Mother Jones ran a story entitled “USDA Ruffles Feathers With New Poultry Inspection Policy,” by Tom Philpott. Like so many posts that I read about on the new proposed poultry inspection system, it is loaded with innuendos, inflammatory comments and is often just plain
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