Letter to the Editor: Workplace injury numbers in poultry industry need closer look 

— OPINION —

As FSN noted recently, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that poultry slaughter plants had a huge and unprecedented reduction in the number of workers injured this year: the industry injury rates were more than halved from the year before.  The BLS data also showed that poultry plants reduced their most serious work injuries that involve lost time or restricted duty by more than two thirds in just one year. What the FSN story didn’t report was that these numbers are based on data collected and reported by the industry, and the data are not checked or validated. Though the FSN story led with a celebration of these numbers, there are very serious questions about these self- reported numbers and whether they are real or a mirage.

Over the past decade three government agencies (USDA, OSHA and NIOSH) have found that the poultry industry’s self-reported injury numbers are seriously underreported. Congressional investigations also documented this in a 2021 Congressional Committee report that found that the poultry industry flagrantly underreported the number of their workers sick with COVID-19 by two thirds.

Many of us were startled to see this one year unprecedented decrease in self-reported cases by the industry. For those of us that follow worker safety in the industry, we didn’t hear from workers about any new improvements or changes that would lead to this drop.  The last published studies of repetitive trauma injuries, like carpal tunnel syndrome, in poultry plants were performed by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) in2012 and 2014.  NIOSH performed medical exams and found alarmingly high rates of carpal tunnel syndrome among line workers — rates from 34 percent to 42 percent.  

Taking a closer look at these BLS numbers may help explain why they may be a mirage: BLS numbers are calculated from a company’s self-reported injury logs that contain only those injuries/illnesses that the company deemed were work related and where the worker received medical treatment from a doctor.  If the plant does not send workers to a doctor for treatment, they would have very few cases on their logs.

In poultry plants, government investigations found that injured and ill workers were seen in onsite health units and rarely referred to a doctor for medical evaluation and treatment.  The onsite clinic staff only provided first aid to the injured worker—not ‘medical treatment’ that would be considered a ‘recordable’ injury.  

A  recent article in the American Medical Association’s Journal of Ethics documented myriad government investigations in big poultry plants that found that the onsite health clinics routinely send injured and ill  workers back to  jobs that cause their injuries,  instead of sending workers to a doctor for a diagnosis and treatment. In some cases, workers went to the onsite clinics dozens of times with the same injury, never to be sent to a doctor.  In these cases, effective treatment was delayed, and workers’ injuries worsened leading to surgery and other bad outcomes. 

When a worker’s condition worsens and they then go to see a doctor on their own, the companies claim these injuries are not work related. The companies don’t pay for the medical treatment, and the injuries are not recorded. Studies and investigations also found that workers may be intimidated into not reporting work related injuries and illnesses for fear of losing their jobs.

The high turnover in the poultry industry, between 60 percent to 150 percent a year,  is often thought to be a consequence of injured workers who can no longer do the job, don’t get to be seen by a doctor to get adequate diagnosis and  medical treatment to recover —and must leave the industry. Of course, these injuries are also not recorded on the companies’ logs.

 A closer look behind these numbers is warranted. What incredible improvements implemented last year have led to this drop? Are these low recordable injury rates really a reflection that the companies are much safer?

About the author: Debbie Berkowitz is Practitioner Fellow at the Kalmanovitz Initiative for Labor and the Working Poor at Georgetown University and Former Chief of Staff and Senior Policy Advisor for OSHA, 2009-2015.

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