Sec. 2. Findings

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Congress finds that— meat and poultry slaughter and processing is a particularly dangerous occupation, with meat and poultry processing workers suffering injuries at measurably higher rates than workers in other private sector industries; meat and poultry processing workers face double the rate of amputations as the average worker in private industry, and injuries such as sprains, lacerations, and contusions are common among poultry workers; meat and poultry processing workers suffer from musculoskeletal injuries, such as carpal tunnel syndrome, trigger finger , tendinitis, rotator cuff injuries, lower back injuries, and chronic pain and numbness, in numbers that can exceed 50 percent of workers; higher line speeds in meat and poultry processing facilities is a recognized risk factor that leads to increased risk of both laceration and musculoskeletal injuries; meat and poultry processing work was and continues to be particularly dangerous during the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID–19) pandemic due to, among other factors— the easily transmissible nature of the virus via aerosol and droplet; the close proximity of meat processing workers; cold conditions inside meat processing facilities; and the pace and physical rigor of meat and poultry processing work; during the COVID–19 pandemic, covered establishments have implemented policies and procedures that have— increased workers’ risk of exposure to SARS–CoV–2; prioritized processing rates over worker health and welfare; and caused a disparate adverse impact on Asian, Black, and Latino workers in the meat and poultry processing industry; enforcement of requirements of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration in the meat and poultry processing industry has been fundamentally inadequate, especially during the COVID–19 pandemic; and meat and poultry processing workers are subjected to exploitative conditions and abusive behavior by employers— including— use of abusive and humiliating shouting by supervisors accusing workers of not working fast enough and harassing them to work faster and harder ; use of sexualized language to harass women workers to work harder and faster ; patterns of direct sexual harassment and incidents of sexual assault; and little or no accountability or redress for emotional, sexualized, or psychological abuse due to— weak enforcement of, and noncompliance with, discrimination protections; and meat and poultry processing workers not reporting the abuse due to fear of receiving more abuse, having their employment terminated, or being reported to immigration enforcement; and that lead to long-term psychological impacts, including— increased feelings of anger and stress by workers pressured to work faster and more aggressively to slaughter animals on killing lines; and episodes of panic and fear by workers who were required to continue working during COVID–19 outbreaks.