Suit claiming Smithfield helped spread COVID-19 tossed

A federal court in Missouri dismissed a lawsuit claiming that Smithfield Foods was contributing to the spread of COVID-19.

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(Jason Morrison | Freeimages.com)
(Jason Morrison | Freeimages.com)

A federal court in Missouri dismissed a lawsuit claiming that Smithfield Foods was contributing to the spread of COVID-19.

The suit, filed recently in the United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri on behalf of the Rural Community Workers Alliance and an employee of Smithfield Foods, accused Smithfield of failing to provide workers with sufficient personal protective equipment, forcing them to work in a setting that does not allow for social distancing, not allowing sufficient time for hand washing, discouraging workers from taking sick leave, and failing to implement a COVID-19 testing and contact tracing plan.

According to a press release from Smithfield Foods, the court not only dismissed the lawsuit, but also recognized the “significant measures,” Smithfield is taking to protect the health and safety of its employees.

““We are pleased with the decision of the United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri to dismiss the complaint made against our company. From the start, we stated that this lawsuit was frivolous, full of specious allegations that were without factual or legal merit and that the assertions were based on speculation, hearsay, anonymous declarations and outdated information. This was nothing more than an attempt by a number of interconnected groups to promote their agenda through outrageous accusations,” Smithfield said in a statement.

“At the core of our company’s COVID-19 response is an ongoing focus on employee health and safety and continued adherence with – at a minimum – CDC and OSHA guidance. Across all our facilities, we are providing our team members with PPE, including masks and face shields. We have implemented mass thermal scanning and installed physical barriers on our production floors and in break areas. We also continue to explicitly instruct employees not to report to work if they are sick or exhibiting COVID-19 symptoms and that they will be paid, including any and all bonuses, when they are quarantined. These measures remain mandatory and nonnegotiable conditions for our company to operate.”

The Smithfield worker who was a plaintiff in the case was only identified as “Jane Doe,” and a worker at the company’s plant in Milan, Missouri.

Plant in Sioux Falls to reopen

Smithfield Foods, in a separate press release, announced that it resumed operations at its plant in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, after receiving positive confirmation from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) that the company is in full compliance with all CDC and Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) guidance

The plant had been closed for more than three weeks.

The company will take a phased approach to resuming its operations. The harvest floor will reopen on May 11, 2020 and the company anticipates that the facility will be fully operational by late May. Testing, which is being administered by the State of South Dakota, is available to all Smithfield employees prior to returning to work. To date, over 2,000 employees have been tested. More tests will be conducted in the coming weeks as the company slowly ramps up its operations.

Facility being retooled in Smithfield, Virginia

Smithfield Foods announced on May 6 that it will immediately begin the process of retooling its plant in Smithfield, Virginia. The project involves installing equipment that will allow it to service additional domestic customers.

Going forward, the plant will produce fresh pork, bacon and ham for the U.S. retail, foodservice and industrial channels.

The facility currently services a number of domestic customers in addition to multinational markets including China, Korea, Mexico and Vietnam.

The company does not anticipate any layoffs as a result of the modifications.

View our continuing coverage of the coronavirus/COVID-19 pandemic.

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