On October 15, 2024, the U.S. Department of Labor released expanded guidance for OSHA inspections of employers in the animal slaughtering and processing industry. This guidance supersedes previous guidance issued in 2015, which had been limited to poultry processing establishments. According to the DOL, new guidance was necessary based on OSHA’s determination that meat and poultry workers face many serious occupational hazards, resulting in an injury rate significantly higher than that of other workers.

The new guidance is similar to the 2015 guidance in many respects. Inspections conducted pursuant to this new guidance are to focus on many of the same hazards identified in the previous guidance while also addressing the hazards that may be the subject of the inspection. These “focus hazards” include sanitation and cleanup operations, ergonomics, personal protective equipment, lockout/tagout, machine guarding, and hazards associated with certain chemicals common to the industry. However, the new guidance adds recordkeeping as an additional area of focus.

Another notable change concerns the enhanced inspection procedures detailed in the new guidance. Per this new guidance, inspection procedures at animal slaughtering and processing establishments require Compliance Safety and Health Officers (CSHOs) to, among other things:

• Conduct inspections during off-shift times to ensure that second and third-shift operations are covered;

• Include contractors and temporary workers who provide on-site sanitation services in the inspection and request injury and illness records from third-party sanitation employers;

• Observe workplace activities that may impact workers who are at most risk (i.e., temporary workers or those performing newly assigned hazardous tasks, entry-level tasks, sanitation, and cleaning) and interview such workers as practicable within the scope of the inspection; and

• Review training efforts, with emphasis on training effectiveness and worker understandability.

This guidance also reminds CSHOs of their existing obligation to make appropriate referrals when they observe or obtain information about potential child labor or wage and hour violations, retaliation against employees, or worker safety violations that could endanger USDA Food Safety Inspection Service employees. However, neither this guidance nor Memoranda of Understandings between OSHA and the Wage and Hour Division or the USDA provide clarity regarding how the referral process operates in practice.

With this guidance, OSHA is zeroing in on the animal slaughtering and processing industry. Employers in this industry must be prepared for inspections to be conducted during off hours, whether late in the day or in the early morning. Employers should also take the time to re-evaluate their sanitation processes, safety trainings, policies for contractors and temporary workers, and other areas that are included in the list of OSHA’s “focus hazards,” as a CSHO will assess these hazards during the inspection.

Navigating an OSHA inspection can be a daunting task. For employers in the animal slaughtering and processing industry, these inspections will become only more challenging.