Protecting America’s Meatpacking Workers Act of 2021

Bill: 117-s-3285
Sponsor: Sen. Booker, Cory A. [D-NJ]
Introduced: 2021-11-30 in the Senate
Policy area: Labor and Employment
Subjects: Administrative law and regulatory procedures
Administrative remedies
Agricultural conservation and pollution
Agricultural marketing and promotion
Agricultural prices, subsidies, credit
Agricultural trade
Agriculture and Food
Air quality
Animal protection and human-animal relationships
Assault and harassment offenses
Border security and unlawful immigration
Cardiovascular and respiratory health
Civil actions and liability
Climate change and greenhouse gases
Competition and antitrust
Congressional agencies
Congressional oversight
Consumer affairs
Corporate finance and management
Correctional facilities and imprisonment
Department of Agriculture
Department of Labor
Emergency medical services and trauma care
Emergency planning and evacuation
Employee leave
Employee performance
Employment and training programs
Employment discrimination and employee rights
Food industry and services
Food supply, safety, and labeling
Foreign labor
Foreign language and bilingual programs
Government Accountability Office (GAO)
Government employee pay, benefits, personnel management
Government studies and investigations
Hazardous wastes and toxic substances
Health technology, devices, supplies
Infectious and parasitic diseases
Intergovernmental relations
Judicial review and appeals
Labor market
Labor standards
Labor-management relations
Legal fees and court costs
Library of Congress
Livestock
Meat
Mental health
Minority employment
Musculoskeletal and skin diseases
Public contracts and procurement
Public participation and lobbying
Racial and ethnic relations
Refugees, asylum, displaced persons
Sex offenses
Small business
State and local government operations
Temporary and part-time employment
Wages and earnings
Water quality
Wildlife conservation and habitat protection
Worker safety and health

Summary:
action_date: 2021-11-30
text: 

Protecting America's Meatpacking Workers Act of 2021

 
This bill addresses workplace conditions and safety with a particular focus on meat and poultry processing establishments and makes other changes to agricultural programs and activities.
 
Generally, the bill provides funding through FY2027 for hiring additional Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) inspectors and related activities. It also restricts an employer's use of certain attendance policies under which a worker is assessed points for absences with progressive discipline imposed as points accumulate.
 
Additionally, the bill expands protections for workers who exercise their rights under occupational safety and health laws and regulations. This includes specific protections and procedures for workers of meat and poultry processing establishments.
 
The bill expands workplace safety and health requirements that apply to meat and poultry processing establishments, including by prohibiting waivers (subject to limited exceptions) related to line speeds and inspections. Additionally, OSHA must issue standards for these establishments that address, for example, ergonomic program management and preventing occupational exposure to COVID-19. OSHA must also (1) establish, within seven days, a process for establishments to report COVID-19 information; and (2) publish certain regulations regarding a workers' representative accompanying an OSHA inspector during inspections of an establishment.
 
The bill provides funding through FY2031 for, and imposes additional conditions on recipients of, grants to improve meat and poultry processing facilities. Further, the bill increases funding for a program that supports regional and local food systems. It also requires country-of-origin labeling of beef, pork, and dairy products.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2021-11-30
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
action_date: 2021-11-30
text: Introduced in Senate