Workplace Safety and Health: Additional Data Needed to Address Continued Hazards in the Meat and Poultry Industry
Highlights
What GAO Found
Injury and illness rates in the meat and poultry slaughtering and processing industry declined from 2004 through 2013, similar to rates in all U.S. manufacturing, according to Department of Labor (DOL) data (see figure), yet hazardous conditions remain. The rates declined from an estimated 9.8 cases per 100 full-time workers in 2004 to 5.7 in 2013. However, these rates continued to be higher than rates for manufacturing overall. Meat workers sustained a higher estimated rate of injuries and illnesses than poultry workers, according to DOL data. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) evaluations and academic studies have found that workers continue to face the hazardous conditions GAO cited in 2005, including tasks associated with musculoskeletal disorders, exposure to chemicals and pathogens, and traumatic injuries from machines and tools.
Injury and Illness Rates among Workers in the Meat and Poultry Industry, Compared with Rates in All U.S. Manufacturing, Calendar Years 2004 through 2013
Note: The meat and poultry industry refers to the animal slaughtering and processing industry, North American Industry Classification System code 31161, which includes animal (except poultry) slaughtering, meat processed from carcasses, rendering and meat byproduct processing, and poultry processing including slaughter.
DOL faces challenges gathering data on injury and illness rates for meat and poultry workers because of underreporting and inadequate data collection. For example, workers may underreport injuries and illnesses because they fear losing their jobs, and employers may underreport because of concerns about potential costs. Another data gathering challenge is that DOL only collects detailed data for those injuries and illnesses that result in a worker having to take days away from work. These detailed data do not include injuries and illnesses such as musculoskeletal disorders that result in a worker being placed on work restriction or transferred to another job. Further, DOL does not have complete injury and illness data on meat and poultry sanitation workers because they may not be classified in the meat and poultry industry if they work for contractors. Federal internal control standards require agencies to track data to help them make decisions and meet their goals. These limitations in DOL's data collection raise questions about whether the federal government is doing all it can to collect the data it needs to support worker protection and workplace safety.
Why GAO Did This Study
DOL is responsible for gathering data on workplace injuries and illnesses, including those in the meat and poultry industry, where workers may experience injuries and illnesses such as sprains, cuts, burns, amputations, repetitive motion injuries, and skin disorders. GAO was asked to examine developments since its 2005 report, which found this industry was one of the most hazardous in the United States and that DOL data on worker injuries and illnesses may not be accurate, and recommended that DOL improve its data collection.
This report (1) describes what is known about injuries, illnesses, and hazards in the meat and poultry industry since GAO last reported, and (2) examines DOL's challenges gathering injury and illness data in this industry. GAO analyzed DOL data from 2004 through 2015, including injury and illness data through 2013, the most recent data available, and examined academic and government studies and evaluations on injuries and illnesses. GAO interviewed DOL and other federal officials, worker advocates, industry officials, and workers, and visited six meat and poultry plants selected for a mix of species and states. The information gathered in these visits is not generalizable to all plants or workers.
Recommendations
GAO is making three recommendations, including that DOL improve its data on musculoskeletal disorders and sanitation workers in the meat and poultry industry. DOL, USDA, and CDC concurred with GAO's recommendations.
Recommendations for Executive Action
| Agency Affected | Recommendation | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Department of Labor | To strengthen DOL's efforts to ensure employers protect the safety and health of workers at meat and poultry plants, the Secretary of Labor should direct the Assistant Secretary for Occupational Safety and Health, working together with the Commissioner of Labor Statistics as appropriate, to develop and implement a cost-effective method for gathering more complete data on musculoskeletal disorders. |
DOL generally agreed with this recommendation and stated that its implementation would make a difference in working conditions in the meat and poultry industry. The agency also noted that resource constraints may make it difficult to implement. The final rule on Improving Tracking of Workplace Injuries and Illnesses was published in July 2023. According to DOL, as part of the implementation of this rule in January 2024, OSHA has begun using its web-based Injury Tracking Application (ITA) to collect injury logs and incident report data from establishments with 100 or more employees in the animal slaughtering and processing industry. September 2025, OSHA is evaluating an initial run of Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)-processed Survey of Occupational Injury and Illness data from 2023 to determine possibly employing methods similar to what the BLS uses to identify musculoskeletal disorders (MSD). DOL reported that in FY 2026, OSHA plans to determine the feasibility of using this methodology to identify MSDs in ITA data. We anticipate closing this recommendation once OSHA has implemented these plans to collect and analyze case-specific information on MSDs at meat and poultry plants.
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| Department of Labor | To develop a better understanding of meat and poultry sanitation workers' injuries and illnesses, the Secretary of Labor should direct the Assistant Secretary for Occupational Safety and Health and the Commissioner of Labor Statistics to study how they could regularly gather data on injury and illness rates among sanitation workers in the meat and poultry industry. |
DOL generally agreed with this recommendation and stated that its implementation would make a difference in working conditions in the meat and poultry industry. The agency also noted that resource constraints may make it difficult to implement. The final rule on Improving Tracking of Workplace Injuries and Illnesses was published in July 2023. According to DOL, as part of the implementation of this rule in January 2024, OSHA has begun using its web-based Injury Tracking Application (ITA) to collect injury logs and incident report data from establishments with 100 or more employees in the animal slaughtering and processing industry. DOL reported that in FY 2026, OSHA plans to explore the feasibility of using this information to identify musculoskeletal disorder (MSD) data, possibly employing methods similar to what the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) uses to identify MSDs in their Survey of Occupational Injury and Illness data. OSHA is currently testing the feasibility of using BLS's methods to identify MSDs in ITA data. We anticipate closing this recommendation once OSHA has implemented these plans to collect and analyze case-specific information on musculoskeletal disorders at meat and poultry plants.
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| Department of Health and Human Services | To develop a better understanding of meat and poultry sanitation workers' injuries and illnesses, the Secretary of Health and Human Services should direct the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to have the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) conduct a study of the injuries and illnesses these workers experience, including their causes and how they are reported. Given the challenges to gaining access to this population, NIOSH may want to coordinate with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to develop ways to initiate this study. |
HHS concurred with this recommendation and noted the previous difficulties NIOSH has had gaining access to these workplaces and the potential resource commitment involved in conducting such a study. We acknowledge this access challenge and noted in our report that OSHA has negotiated access for NIOSH in other industries, hence the rationale for recommending that NIOSH may want to coordinate with OSHA. In February 2020, NIOSH reported it met with industry associations to discuss areas of mutual interest for research on worker safety in poultry plants. However, according to NIOSH, the advent of COVID-19 and its challenges have limited plans for field studies for FY20. During the COVID-19 epidemic NIOSH informed us that, as of March 2021, its representatives have: (1) created COVID-19 safety guidelines with OSHA and (2) performed more than 30 meat and poultry worksite evaluations focusing on the prevention of COVID-19. NIOSH notes that it continues to have an interest in learning more about and providing assistance to minimize various types of illnesses and injuries that may affect meat and poultry sanitation workers, and at some point in the future they hope to "re-initiate" their interactions with stakeholders such as the National Chicken Council and US Egg & Poultry Association on the study of peracetic acid exposure in the poultry processing industry. In November 2021, NIOSH reported that it has continued to update peracetic acid (PAA) industry partners on the activities surrounding lab and field work on assessing worker exposures; and made progress on the development of two field portable PAA air sampling methods. However, field study activities are on hold due to COVID-19 travel restrictions and personnel assignments in key roles on the CDC COVID response. The PAA field study protocol will be updated to include COVID-19 precautions and an amendment will be submitted to the NIOSH Institutional Review Board for approval prior to re-initiating activities. Our recommendation was aimed at increasing the understanding of the various types of illnesses and injuries that are common among meat and poultry sanitation workers, including their causes and how they are reported. In January 2024, HHS reported that challenges evaluating potential exposures of sanitation workers in processing plants continue, including access to this worker population, sanitation worker demographics, and epidemiological challenges.
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