On Friday, a Haitian worker at the JBS meatpacking plant in Greeley, CO filed charges with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission alleging that JBS is forcing hundreds of Haitian workers to work at dangerous speeds and limiting their access to the bathroom. Towards Justice, King Employment Law, and FarmSTAND are counsel on the case.
The worker filing the charge, like hundreds of other Haitian workers currently employed at the JBS meatpacking facility in Greeley, is responsible for removing fat from beef as it moves along a JBS production line, hooking the meat with one hand and slicing the meat with a knife held in their other hand. He alleges that he is forced to work at such extreme speeds that he can’t even release his hand from his hook for a moment during his shift.
Due to this stress, he currently can’t close his fingers on his left hand, which are locked in a clawed position. Several Haitian workers at the plant are experiencing this injury along with more cuts to their hands and fingers due to JBS’s line speeds. The charge alleges that during the shift, made up of predominantly Haitian workers, line speeds are as high as 430 head of cattle per hour, whereas during the plant’s other shift, line speeds are often between 250-300 head per hour.
The charge also alleges that JBS is not granting Haitian workers permission to use the bathroom during their shifts. This means that Haitian workers are frequently forced to hold their urine for hours while cutting meat moving along the processing lines at unprecedented speeds. The charge alleges that one worker urinated in her pants when she wasn’t granted permission to leave the line.
JBS Foods, owner of the Greeley meatpacking plant, is the largest meat-processing company in the world, reporting more than $70 billion in revenue last year alone.
“The charge alleges a level of corporate greed we shouldn’t allow to stand,” said Towards Justice Executive Director David Seligman. “Despite $300 million in profits last quarter, our client alleges JBS is targeting hundreds of Haitian workers with inhumane working conditions solely because they’re vulnerable and easy for JBS to exploit.”
As a Monday Denver Post article states:
The line moves so fast, the worker said, that before he’s done with one piece of meat another has already arrived. Workers are stuck between moving so quickly they risk cutting themselves or being disciplined for not keeping up.
“It’s definitely dangerous,” he said.
Since Haitian workers arrived at the Greeley facility, JBS has accelerated the so-called “chain speeds” on the production line, the worker’s EEOC charge alleges. The 430 head of cattle per hour mark a substantial uptick from historical chain speeds and that of the “A shift,” when speeds are often around 250 to 300 head of cattle per hour, the charge states.
“This is discrimination based on race that is simultaneously putting hundreds of workers in grave risk of serious injury while on shift,” said Amal Bouhabib, a Senior Staff Attorney from FarmSTAND. “Injuries in this type of workplace can include arm amputations, other lacerations, and even thermal burns. The workers are only asking to be treated with basic human dignity.”
The JBS facility in Greeley has faced numerous complaints about working conditions over the years. As recently as last month, UFCW Local 7 accused JBS of human trafficking, alleging that Haitian workers are forced to live in unhealthy living conditions while facing threats and intimidation from JBS. Nor is this the first EEOC complaint filed against JBS – in 2021, JBS paid a $5.5 million penalty for preventing Muslim workers from taking breaks for prayer during Ramadan.