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Joint labor enforcement initiative in poultry plants

Summary A member of the public asked the Labor Department to form a poultry-industry task force. OSHA said it and the Wage and Hour Division were planning outreach and an enforcement survey to identify workplace problems. OSHA marks the letter as archived and says it may no longer represent agency policy.
Document
Federal opinion letter
Agency
Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)
Document number
1997-08-23
Date issued
September 23, 1997
Status
Archived by the agency
OSHA labels this an archive document and says it may no longer represent agency policy; the page does not state a withdrawal or replacement.
Status last verified October 9, 2026
Topics
Workplace Safety Enforcement Policy Poultry Processing
Source
View the official document

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The current status of this document is unclear
OSHA labels this an archive document and says it may no longer represent agency policy; the page does not state a withdrawal or replacement. It may no longer reflect the agency's current position. Treat this page as historical context, not current guidance, and verify current law before relying on anything here.
About this page: The full text below is the official document from Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). Ezel adds the plain-English summary and tracks the document's status. The official source linked on this page is authoritative for any reliance.

NOTICE: This is an OSHA Archive Document, and may no longer represent OSHA Policy. It is presented here as historical content, for research and review purposes only.

September 23, 1997

Fred M. Reese
[Recipient address omitted]
Dear Mr. Reese

The purpose of this letter is to respond to your letter to the Secretary of Labor dated August 7, 1997 regarding the need for a Department of Labor taskforce on the poultry industry. The Department of Labor has targeted the poultry industry for a joint effort to improve working conditions by the Wage and Hour Division of the Employment Standards Administration and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. This effort will include an outreach program to the industry where the Department explains its concerns with the working conditions of the employees and an enforcement based survey of the industry. The results of the survey will help the Department focus attention on problem issues and allow it to devise an appropriate strategy to address these issues.

Thank you for your expression of support of this initiative and concern for the working conditions affecting the employees of the poultry industry.

Sincerely

John B. Miles, Jr.
Director of Compliance Programs

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