Workers at the Maid-Rite Specialty Foods facility and Friends of Farmworkers, Inc. d/b/a Justice at Work, in its capacity as the workers’ authorized employee representative, allege that Maid-Rite’s practices endanger their safety on a daily basis. These practices include configuring the production line in such a way that workers cannot social distance, failing to provide cloth face coverings, failing to provide adequate hand-washing opportunities, creating incentives for workers to attend work sick, and rotating workers from other facilities in a way that increases the risk of spreading the virus.
Workers Seek Order Forcing OSHA to Intervene to Protect Them from COVID-19: Jane Does I, II, III, et al v. Eugene Scalia, in his official capacity as United States Secretary of Labor
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Complaint Under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964: Food Chain Workers Alliance, et al v. Tyson Foods, Inc., et al
Towards Justice along with legal partners Public Justice and Nichols Kaster filed a Title VI complaint against meat processing corporations for their alleged racially discriminatory practices. This complaint asks the Office of Civil Rights to investigate disparate impact & treatment of Black, Latino and Asian meat processing workers since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. (more…)
Protecting Supply Chain Workers during COVID-19: Derrick Palmer, et al. v. Amazon.com, Inc., et al
Our clients allege that Amazon’s operations at its JFK8 fulfillment center in Staten Island, NY areinconsistent with state law and public health guidance. We allege that Amazon’s conduct has contributed to the spread of COVID-19 among workers at the plant and in their communities. Dozens of workers have already gotten sick and at least one has died. The plaintiffs seek an injunction to force Amazon to comply with public health guidance. (more…)
Protecting Supply Chain Workers during COVID-19: Rural Community Workers Alliance, et al v. Smithfield Foods, Inc., et al
Working on a supply chain is an essential task during this pandemic.It is also essential that corporations
engaged in the supply chain production take basic steps to protect their workers from the spread of COVID-19. Some employers are doing things right. Unfortunately, many workers in supply chain work —farmworkers, slaughterhouse workers, warehouse workers, grocery workers, delivery drivers, restaurant workers, and many others—continue to be required to report to work under conditions that directly conflict with CDC guidance and state and local public health orders. These conditions include failing to restructure the workplace to allow for social distancing at work, failing to encourage sick leave for workers who fall ill, and failing to provide protective equipment or sufficient hand-washing opportunities.