The U.S. Department of Labor continues to search for workers who were owed back wages from two Mississippi poultry processing plants.
A&B Foods and PH Food, of Morton, Miss., failed to comply with the Fair Labor Standards Act, according to a July 1 news release.
“Unfortunately, the people affected by the violations in this case work in an industry where wages are low and violations are all too common,” Wage and Hour Division District Office Director Audrey Hall, in Jackson, Miss., said in the release. “The U.S. Department of Labor is committed to protecting their rights and ensuring that they receive all of the hard-earned wages they rely on to make ends meet.”
Working in a poultry processing plant is difficult with the long hours and substantial safety and health risks present, the release said. A Mississippi worker's mean annual income is less than $30,000. These employees must work in environments with high noise levels, risky machinery, slippery flooring, harmful chemicals and biological threats and frequent hazards of musculoskeletal diseases.
After the investigations, division leaders met with the staff from the two poultry processing factories May 9 to give them their unpaid back wages. The majority of the impacted 313 affected employees were informed, but the division is still looking for more than 40 employees whose salaries it has determined are owed. If employees believe they may be due back wages collected by the division, they can use an online search tool or phone the division confidentially at 866-4US-WAGE.
