The U.S. Department of Labor recovered $322,000 in back wages for poultry workers at facilities in Alabama and North Carolina.
Native Poultry LLC in Enterprise, Ala., and Poultry Labor Solutions Inc. in Newton, N.C., reportedly did not pay appropriate overtime wages at the proper rate to employees working as catchers, loaders and leads, according to a March 17 DOL news release. The two companies share ownership.
"The workers in these cases handle an important step in food operations that is not mechanized, and their labor is essential to the industry," Atlanta-based DOL Regional Administrator Juan Coria said in the news release. "More than 100 birds can be processed by hand every 30 minutes so the teams employed there can face difficult conditions.”
The 322 workers affected routinely work around dangerous equipment, on slippery floors and around hazardous chemicals, the release reported. The employees working as poultry catchers, loaders and leads, regularly face on-the-job risks that include exposure to illnesses while handling live birds, along with the waste and dust the birds produce. The workers also stand for long hours, which increases their risk of musculoskeletal disorders.
The investigation also found the employers only paid the proper overtime rates for weekend work and not when the workers exceeded their 4o hours during the week, according to the release. This is a violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act.
Following its investigation, DOL recovered $353,141 in back wages for the workers, whose annual mean wage ranges from $25,930 in Alabama to $31,640 in North Carolina, according to a May 2021 Bureau of Labor Statistics survey, the release reported.
The two catching companies handle growing and processing operations for Wayne Farms LLC, in Dothan, Ala., and Case Farms LLC in Troutman, N.C., the release reported.
"Employers like Native Poultry and Poultry Labor Solutions have a legal obligation to make sure their employees – people who help put food on our tables – are paid their full earned wages," Coria said.
