What This Bill Does
This bill aims to improve safety, health, and working conditions for people who work in meat and poultry processing plants. It creates new rules about how fast production lines can move, requires employers to allow bathroom breaks, sets new workplace safety standards, and strengthens protections for workers who report safety problems.
---
##
Who It Affects
- Workers at meat and poultry processing plants
- Meat and poultry processing companies
- The U.S. Department of Agriculture
- The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)
- OSHA workplace safety inspectors
- State governments with approved OSHA plans
- Employers of all sizes (rules apply broadly to "covered entities")
---
##
Key Provisions
- **Line Speed Controls**: The Secretary of Agriculture cannot allow production lines to move faster unless a safety inspection by the Department of Labor certifies it will not harm worker safety (Sec. 101)
- **Bathroom Break Rights**: Employers must allow workers to use toilet facilities when needed without punishment, provide enough facilities to prevent long lines, and pay workers for bathroom breaks (Sec. 122)
- **New Safety Standards for Repetitive Motion Injuries**: OSHA must create standards requiring employers to identify and control repetitive motion hazards, train workers, and manage medical care for injuries like carpal tunnel syndrome within 30 months (Sec. 123)
- **COVID-19 Protections**: OSHA must issue emergency temporary standards within 7 days to protect workers from COVID-19 exposure at meat plants, and a final standard within 24 months covering infectious pathogens (Sec. 123)
- **Retaliation Protections**: Workers cannot be fired or punished for reporting safety problems, refusing unsafe work, or talking to safety inspectors, with enhanced protections for meatpacking workers including a 180-day complaint filing deadline (Sec. 126)
- **No-Fault Attendance Policy Rules**: Employers cannot penalize workers for taking legally protected leave (like sick leave or family medical leave) and must explain this clearly in writing (Sec. 112)
- **Expanded Inspections**: OSHA must conduct regular safety inspections at every meat and poultry processing facility in the country, focusing on amputation hazards, ergonomics, line speeds, and bathroom access (Sec. 124)
- **Pandemic Reporting**: During pandemics, meat plants must report weekly infections and deaths by racial group to OSHA, and this information must be made public (Sec. 129)
- **Additional OSHA Inspectors**: The bill funds the hiring of new safety inspectors (Sec. 128)
---
##
What Changes
**If this bill becomes law:**
- Employers will no longer be able to speed up production lines without special safety certification
- Workers will have legal rights to bathroom breaks that cannot be restricted or punished
- Employers must write down their attendance policies and protect workers taking legally protected leave
- OSHA will conduct regular inspections at all meat and poultry plants instead of occasional inspections
- Workers can report retaliation to the Department of Labor and recover lost wages, damages, and legal fees if they win their case
- Workers can sue employers directly in federal court for safety violations (not just file complaints with agencies)
- Employers must disclose all chemicals used at worksites in workers' native languages
- Employers receiving federal grants for meat processing facilities must have labor peace agreements in place
- Country-of-origin labeling requirements will be restored for beef and pork sold to consumers
---
##
Important Definitions
- **Covered Establishment**: A meat or poultry processing plant that is inspected by the federal government under meat and poultry inspection laws (Sec. 3)
- **COVID-19 Emergency**: The public health emergency declared by the Secretary of Health and Human Services on January 31, 2020 (Sec. 3)
- **No Fault Attendance Policy**: A system where employers penalize workers for any absence, tardiness, or early departure by assigning points or removing time from an allotted bank, which can lead to loss of pay or being fired (Sec. 111)
- **Legally Protected Leave**: Time off that is protected under federal, state, or local law, such as sick leave, family and medical leave, or military service leave (Sec. 111)
- **Labor Peace Agreement**: A written agreement between an employer and a labor organization where the employer promises not to prevent workers from joining a union, and the union agrees not to strike or boycott (Sec. 201)
---
##
Effective Date
Not specified in bill text for most provisions. Specific timelines are given for individual actions:
- Emergency COVID-19 standards must be issued within 7 days of enactment
- OSHA regional inspection programs must be implemented within 30 days
- Standardized pandemic reporting procedures must be issued within 7 days for COVID-19
- Various proposed and final safety standards have deadlines ranging from 3 months to 30 months after enactment
I
118TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 798
To improve protections for meatpacking workers, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
FEBRUARY 2, 2023
Mr. KHANNA (for himself, Ms. NORTON, Mr. PAYNE, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mrs.
HAYES, and Ms. LEE of California) introduced the following bill; which
was referred to the Committee on Agriculture, and in addition to the
Committees on Education and the Workforce, Oversight and Account-
ability, House Administration, and the Judiciary, for a period to be sub-
sequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of
such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned
A BILL
To improve protections for meatpacking workers, and for
other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
1
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
2
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.
3
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the
4
‘‘Protecting America’s Meatpacking Workers Act of
5
2023’’.
6
(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for
7
this Act is as follows:
8
VerDate Sep 11 2014
06:25 Feb 24, 2023
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00001
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H798.IH
H798
pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
2
•HR 798 IH
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
Sec. 2. Findings.
Sec. 3. Definitions.
TITLE I—REFORMS TO PROTECT MEAT AND POULTRY
PROCESSING WORKERS
Subtitle A—Department of Agriculture
Sec. 101. Rule on increased line speeds at meat and poultry establishments.
Subtitle B—Fair Attendance Policies
Sec. 111. Definitions.
Sec. 112. Requirements for employers relating to no fault attendance policies
or attendance systems.
Sec. 113. Remedies and enforcement.
Sec. 114. Rulemaking.
Sec. 115. Relationship to other laws.
Sec. 116. Waiver of State immunity.
Sec. 117. Severability.
Subtitle C—Occupational Safety and Health Administration Reforms
Sec. 121. Definitions.
Sec. 122. Ensuring compliance with employee rights to use toilet facilities at
covered establishments.
Sec. 123. Occupational safety and health standards to protect employees in cov-
ered establishments.
Sec. 124. Permanent regional emphasis inspection program; expanding inspec-
tions.
Sec. 125. Representatives during physical inspections.
Sec. 126. Enhanced protections from retaliation.
Sec. 127. Regulations to restore a column on required records of work-related
musculoskeletal disorders.
Sec. 128. Funding for additional OSHA inspectors.
Sec. 129. OSHA reporting.
Sec. 130. Private right of action.
Sec. 131. Injunction proceedings.
Subtitle D—Savings Provision
Sec. 136. Savings provision.
TITLE II—FARM SYSTEM REFORMS
Sec. 201. Expanded meat and poultry processing grants.
Sec. 202. Local Agriculture Market Program.
Sec. 203. Restoration of mandatory country of origin labeling for beef and
pork; inclusion of dairy products.
Sec. 204. Definitions in Packers and Stockyards Act, 1921.
Sec. 205. Unlawful practices.
Sec. 206. Spot market purchases of livestock by packers.
Sec. 207. Investigation of live poultry dealers.
Sec. 208. Award of attorney fees.
Sec. 209. Technical amendments.
TITLE III—GAO REPORTS
VerDate Sep 11 2014
06:25 Feb 24, 2023
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00002
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6211
E:\BILLS\H798.IH
H798
pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
3
•HR 798 IH
Sec. 301. Review and report on fragility and national security in the food sys-
tem.
Sec. 302. Review and report on racial and ethnic disparities in meat and poul-
try processing.
Sec. 303. GAO report on line speeds.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
1
Congress finds that—
2
(1) meat and poultry slaughter and processing
3
is a particularly dangerous occupation, with meat
4
and poultry processing workers suffering injuries at
5
measurably higher rates than workers in other pri-
6
vate sector industries;
7
(2) meat and poultry processing workers face
8
double the rate of amputations as the average work-
9
er in private industry, and injuries such as sprains,
10
lacerations, and contusions are common among poul-
11
try workers;
12
(3) meat and poultry processing workers suffer
13
from musculoskeletal injuries, such as carpal tunnel
14
syndrome, ‘‘trigger finger’’, tendinitis, rotator cuff
15
injuries, lower back injuries, and chronic pain and
16
numbness, in numbers that can exceed 50 percent of
17
workers;
18
(4) higher line speeds in meat and poultry proc-
19
essing facilities is a recognized risk factor that leads
20
to increased risk of both laceration and musculo-
21
skeletal injuries;
22
VerDate Sep 11 2014
06:25 Feb 24, 2023
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00003
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H798.IH
H798
pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
4
•HR 798 IH
(5) meat and poultry processing work was and
1
continues to be particularly dangerous during the
2
Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID–19) pandemic
3
due to, among other factors—
4
(A) the easily transmissible nature of the
5
virus via aerosol and droplet;
6
(B) the close proximity of meat processing
7
workers;
8
(C) cold conditions inside meat processing
9
facilities; and
10
(D) the pace and physical rigor of meat
11
and poultry processing work;
12
(6) during the COVID–19 pandemic, covered
13
establishments have implemented policies and proce-
14
dures that have—
15
(A) increased workers’ risk of exposure to
16
SARS–CoV–2;
17
(B) prioritized processing rates over work-
18
er health and welfare; and
19
(C) caused a disparate adverse impact on
20
Asian, Black, and Latino workers in the meat
21
and poultry processing industry;
22
(7) enforcement of requirements of the Occupa-
23
tional Safety and Health Administration in the meat
24
and poultry processing industry has been fundamen-
25
VerDate Sep 11 2014
06:25 Feb 24, 2023
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00004
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H798.IH
H798
pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
5
•HR 798 IH
tally inadequate, especially during the COVID–19
1
pandemic; and
2
(8) meat and poultry processing workers are
3
subjected to exploitative conditions and abusive be-
4
havior by employers—
5
(A) including—
6
(i) use of abusive and humiliating
7
shouting by supervisors accusing workers
8
of not working fast enough and harassing
9
them to work ‘‘faster’’ and ‘‘harder’’;
10
(ii) use of sexualized language to har-
11
ass women workers to work ‘‘harder’’ and
12
‘‘faster’’;
13
(iii) patterns of direct sexual harass-
14
ment and incidents of sexual assault; and
15
(iv) little or no accountability or re-
16
dress for emotional, sexualized, or psycho-
17
logical abuse due to—
18
(I) weak enforcement of, and
19
noncompliance
with,
discrimination
20
protections; and
21
(II) meat and poultry processing
22
workers not reporting the abuse due
23
to fear of receiving more abuse, hav-
24
ing their employment terminated, or
25
VerDate Sep 11 2014
06:25 Feb 24, 2023
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00005
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H798.IH
H798
pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
6
•HR 798 IH
being reported to immigration en-
1
forcement; and
2
(B) that lead to long-term psychological
3
impacts, including—
4
(i) increased feelings of anger and
5
stress by workers pressured to work faster
6
and more aggressively to slaughter animals
7
on killing lines; and
8
(ii) episodes of panic and fear by
9
workers who were required to continue
10
working during COVID–19 outbreaks.
11
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
12
In this Act:
13
(1) COVERED
ESTABLISHMENT.—The term
14
‘‘covered establishment’’ means—
15
(A) an official establishment (as defined in
16
section 301.2 of title 9, Code of Federal Regu-
17
lations (or successor regulations)) that is sub-
18
ject to inspection under the Federal Meat In-
19
spection Act (21 U.S.C. 601 et seq.); and
20
(B) an official establishment (as defined in
21
section 381.1 of title 9, Code of Federal Regu-
22
lations (or successor regulations)) that is sub-
23
ject to inspection under the Poultry Products
24
Inspection Act (21 U.S.C. 451 et seq.).
25
VerDate Sep 11 2014
06:25 Feb 24, 2023
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00006
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H798.IH
H798
pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
7
•HR 798 IH
(2) COVERED PERIOD.—The term ‘‘covered pe-
1
riod’’ means the period beginning on the date of en-
2
actment of this Act and ending on the date that is
3
90 days after the date on which the COVID–19
4
emergency is lifted.
5
(3)
COVID–19
EMERGENCY.—The
term
6
‘‘COVID–19 emergency’’ means the public health
7
emergency declared by the Secretary of Health and
8
Human Services under section 319 of the Public
9
Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 247d) on January
10
31, 2020, with respect to COVID–19.
11
(4) EMPLOYEE; EMPLOYER.—Unless otherwise
12
specified, the terms ‘‘employee’’ and ‘‘employer’’
13
have the meanings given those terms in section 3 of
14
the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (29
15
U.S.C. 652).
16
TITLE I—REFORMS TO PROTECT
17
MEAT AND POULTRY PROC-
18
ESSING WORKERS
19
Subtitle A—Department of
20
Agriculture
21
SEC. 101. RULE ON INCREASED LINE SPEEDS AT MEAT AND
22
POULTRY ESTABLISHMENTS.
23
(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section:
24
VerDate Sep 11 2014
06:25 Feb 24, 2023
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00007
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H798.IH
H798
pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
8
•HR 798 IH
(1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis-
1
trator’’ means the Administrator of the Service.
2
(2) ASSISTANT SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Assist-
3
ant Secretary’’ means the Assistant Secretary of
4
Labor for Occupational Safety and Health.
5
(3) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘‘Director’’ means
6
the Director of the National Institute for Occupa-
7
tional Safety and Health.
8
(4) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means
9
the Secretary of Agriculture.
10
(5) SERVICE.—The term ‘‘Service’’ means the
11
Food Safety Inspection Service.
12
(b) RULE ON WAIVERS.—
13
(1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other
14
provision of law (including regulations, including
15
sections 303.1(h) and 381.3(b) of title 9, Code of
16
Federal Regulations (or successor regulations)), the
17
Secretary, acting through the Administrator, shall
18
not issue a waiver relating to line speeds at a cov-
19
ered establishment or inspection staffing require-
20
ments for a covered establishment unless the covered
21
establishment—
22
(A) agrees to an inspection conducted by
23
the Assistant Secretary or the Director for the
24
purposes of the waiver; and
25
VerDate Sep 11 2014
06:25 Feb 24, 2023
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00008
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H798.IH
H798
pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
9
•HR 798 IH
(B) the Assistant Secretary or the Director
1
certifies to the Secretary that any increases in
2
line speed at the covered establishment would
3
not have an adverse impact on worker safety.
4
(2) INSPECTIONS.—An inspection conducted by
5
the Assistant Secretary or the Director under para-
6
graph (1)(A) shall include—
7
(A) an ergonomic analysis of all jobs in the
8
applicable covered establishment that may expe-
9
rience an increased work pace due to increasing
10
the number of animals being slaughtered—
11
(i) per minute; and
12
(ii) per hour;
13
(B) an assessment of the current rates of
14
musculoskeletal disorders in the covered estab-
15
lishment;
16
(C) a review of current efforts at the cov-
17
ered establishment to mitigate those disorders,
18
including a review of how medical personnel at
19
the covered establishment manage those dis-
20
orders; and
21
(D) a review of the impact of any proposed
22
line speed increases on the pace of work for
23
workers on the slaughter and production lines
24
VerDate Sep 11 2014
06:25 Feb 24, 2023
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00009
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H798.IH
H798
pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
10
•HR 798 IH
of the covered establishment (including the
1
workers that package the meat).
2
(3) LIMITATION
ON
AUTHORITY
OVER
LINE
3
SPEEDS.—None of the funds made available to the
4
Secretary during the covered period may be used to
5
develop, propose, finalize, issue, amend, or imple-
6
ment any policy, regulation, directive, constituent
7
update, or any other agency program that would in-
8
crease line speeds at covered establishments.
9
(4) EFFECT ON STATE LAW.—
10
(A) IN
GENERAL.—This subsection shall
11
not preempt or limit any law or regulation of a
12
State or a political subdivision of a State that—
13
(i) imposes requirements that are
14
more protective of worker safety or animal
15
welfare than the requirements of this sub-
16
section; or
17
(ii) creates penalties for conduct regu-
18
lated by this subsection.
19
(B) OTHER LAWS.—The requirements of
20
this subsection are in addition to, and not in
21
lieu of, any other laws protecting worker safety
22
and animal welfare.
23
(c) TRANSPARENCY IN RULEMAKING.—With respect
24
to each rulemaking proceeding initiated by the Adminis-
25
VerDate Sep 11 2014
06:25 Feb 24, 2023
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00010
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H798.IH
H798
pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
11
•HR 798 IH
trator on or after the date of enactment of this Act, the
1
Administrator shall comply with—
2
(1) the data quality guidelines of the Service,
3
which state that the Service and the offices of the
4
Service are held to a standard of transparency to en-
5
sure that the information shared by the Service is
6
presented in an accurate, reliable, and unbiased
7
manner; and
8
(2) Executive Order 13563 (5 U.S.C. 601 note;
9
relating to improving regulation and regulatory re-
10
view), which requires Federal agencies to provide
11
timely online access to relevant scientific information
12
in an open format that can easily be searched and
13
downloaded during a proposed rulemaking.
14
(d) EVALUATION OF RULEMAKING AND POLICIES.—
15
In evaluating the impact of any future rulemaking or pol-
16
icy, the Secretary shall request that the Director conduct
17
an evaluation of the rulemaking or policy that includes a
18
review of—
19
(1) current safety conditions and injuries and
20
illnesses at the applicable covered establishments, in-
21
cluding medical exams and medical histories;
22
(2) whether the policy proposals will increase
23
the pace of work for any employee at the applicable
24
covered establishments; and
25
VerDate Sep 11 2014
06:25 Feb 24, 2023
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00011
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H798.IH
H798
pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
12
•HR 798 IH
(3) whether, and the extent to which, the policy
1
proposals will impact worker safety.
2
(e) REPORTS.—
3
(1) REPORT
TO
CONGRESS.—Not later than
4
180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the
5
Secretary, the Secretary of Labor, and the Secretary
6
of Health and Human Services shall each submit to
7
the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and For-
8
estry and the Committee on Health, Education,
9
Labor, and Pensions of the Senate and the Com-
10
mittee on Agriculture and
[Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]