Gov. Whitmer Signs Order Outlining Safety Guidelines For Meat Processing Facilities
LANSING, Mich. (CBS DETROIT) — Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed an executive order Thursday outlining workplace safety guidelines for meatpacking plants to keep employees safe.
"Meatpacking plants — where employees work in very close quarters — has proven to be a hotspot for COVID-19 infections in other states, which is why it's important for these facilities to space employees out and ensure they have the proper Personal Protective Equipment to keep themselves and their families safe," said Whitmer. "By implementing these science-backed safety guidelines we can help avoid the sharp upticks in COVID-19 cases states in the south and west are experiencing now."
Here are the guidelines meat and poultry processing plants must follow:
- Conduct a daily entry screening protocol for employees, contractors, suppliers, and any other individuals entering the facility.
- Configure communal work environments so employees are spaced at least six feet apart in all directions
- Require employees to wear a face-covering whenever present at the facility, except when removal is necessary to eat or drink.
- Provide clean cloth face coverings or disposable mask options for employees to use when the coverings become wet, soiled, or otherwise visibly contaminated over the course of a workday.
- Use face shields in addition to face coverings, as necessary.
- Install physical barriers — such as strip curtains, plastic, or other impermeable dividers or partitions — to separate meat and poultry processing employees from each other.
- Take measures to ensure adequate ventilation in work areas to help minimize employees' potential exposures.
- Provide visual cues (e.g., floor markings, signs) as a reminder to employees to maintain social distancing.
- Reduce processing capacity or modify the processing or production lines and/or stagger workers across shifts to minimize the number of employees in the facility at any one time.
