Officials from Mar-Jac Poultry in Hattiesburg have issued a news release stating that the 16-year-old employee who recently died after a workplace accident “should not have been hired” because of his status as a minor, and that the employee’s age and identity were misrepresented on his hiring paperwork.
According to the release, which was issued July 19, officials from the plant – which is located on James Street – immediately reported the teenager’s death to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, which commenced an investigation into the incident. At that time, Mar-Jac leadership discovered the individual was a minor, which goes against a law that disallows individuals under the age of 18 to perform certain dangerous tasks.
“Due to an unprecedentedly tight labor market, Mar-Jac MS relies on staffing companies to fill positions at its facility,” the statement reads. “These companies’ contracts with Mar-Jac MS require them to verify that every applicant is legally qualified to work before they start any job.
“This includes verifying their identify (including age) and immigration status using the I-9 form prescribed by the Department of Homeland Security and through the government’s E-Verify system. Mar-Jac MS relies on these companies to complete these checks and it is a condition of their contracts with Mar-Jac MS that they do so for every job application, without exception. Mar-Jac MS would never knowingly put any employee, and certainly not a minor, in harm’s way but it appears, at this point in the investigation, that this individual’s age and identity were misrepresented on the paperwork.”
The incident happened at approximately 8 p.m. July 14, when the 16-year-old became entangled in machinery while conducting sanitizing operations at the plant. Forrest County Deputy Coroner Lisa Klem confirmed that the teenager did die at the site, but did not disclose his identity because of his age and the ongoing investigation.
“There are many hard-working young people in Mississippi and elsewhere who are eager to work to support themselves and their families,” Mar-Jac’s statement reads. “But the law does not allow those under the age of 18 to perform certain dangerous tasks and Mar-Jac MS is dedicated to complying with the law.
“We are devastated at the loss of life, and deeply regret that an underage individual was hired without our knowledge. The company is undertaking a thorough audit with the staffing companies to ensure that this kind of error never happens again.”
This fatality follows two others that happened during two accidents in 2020 at the plant; one man died in each of those incidents, which occurred just six months apart.
