covid19

August 24, 2021 In Cases

Debt Relief for Farmers of Color

The American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) of 2021 promised $4 billion in debt relief for farmers and ranchers of color to mitigate the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on a population previously excluded from government resources and support. In response to this attempt to address the...

June 21, 2021 In Cases

Food & Water Watch v. Smithfield Foods

Food & Water Watch, represented by FarmSTAND (formerly the Food Project at Public Justice), filed a lawsuit in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia against Smithfield Foods, alleging that the multinational meat processing company repeatedly lied to consumers throughout the COVID-19 pandemic so...

June 10, 2021 In News, Press Release

Public Justice urges Biden Administration to expand mandatory protections to all workers in dangerous workplaces

Public Justice is dismayed at the Biden Administration’s refusal to issue an Emergency Temporary Standard for all workers in dangerous environments. While Public Justice applauds the administration’s issuance of mandatory protections for healthcare workers, the ETS must be expanded to include all workplaces where workers...

March 31, 2021 In News

Law Street Media: Court Dismisses COVID-19 Lawsuit Against OSHA Regarding Meatpacking Plant

On Tuesday, the Middle District of Pennsylvania dismissed a lawsuit against the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the Department of Labor (DOL), alleging that the governmental bodies should have done more to protect workers at Maid-Rite Specialty Foods, a meatpacking plant in Scranton, Pennsylvania, during...

March 30, 2021 In News

Law360: OSHA Escapes Pa. Meatpackers’ COVID-19 Protocols Suit

A Pennsylvania federal judge on Tuesday granted the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's bid to ax a suit filed by meat processing plant workers who claimed that the agency failed to enforce COVID-19 protocols at their workplace despite receiving official complaints....

March 30, 2021 In News

Comment from Worker and Legal Team: Judge Grants OSHA Motion to Dismiss in Maid-Rite Worker Suit

Link to ruling: Maid-Rite-Dkt-59-Memorandum-Granting-Motion-to-Dismiss-Motion-to-Strike.pdf (publicjustice.net) Statement from Jane Doe II, a plaintiff in the lawsuit: “It is bad enough to be treated as inhuman by your employer during a pandemic – to work along a crowded processing line at breakneck speed, to have no room to take...

January 19, 2021 In News

Bloomberg Law: Meatpackers Press for Covid-19 Vaccine to Protect Line Workers

Meatpacking workers and their employers are pushing to the front of the line for coronavirus vaccinations as state governments roll out their distribution plans to combat the pandemic....

January 4, 2021 In News

Bloomberg Law: ‘No Evidence’ of Virus Litigation Wave as Businesses Seek Shield

The volume of lawsuits filed since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic that allege workplace safety violations—including sickness and death from lack of protective equipment, social distancing, and limiting exposure—has been far less than the onslaught predicted by pro-business groups and some politicians....

December 9, 2020 In News

Law360: Pa. Meatpackers Urge Court Action Over Virus Safety Plans

A group of workers told a Pennsylvania federal judge on Tuesday that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's failure to enforce COVID-19 protocols at a Scranton-area meat processing plant underscored the importance of court intervention to ensure worker safety at the facility....

December 3, 2020 In News

Law360: OSHA Won’t Fine Meatpacker Accused Of COVID-19 Violations

The U.S. Department of Labor's workplace safety arm will not cite a meat processing company investigated for alleged COVID-19 violations, despite a lawsuit by workers urging a Pennsylvania federal court to force the agency to make the company better protect against the disease....