Smithfield Foods, the nation's largest pork producer, is facing a federal lawsuit over working conditions in its Milan, Missouri, plant. The facility has remained open despite the closure of two other processing plants due to the spread of COVID-19 among employees.

The Rural Community Workers Alliance and a Milan plant worker filed a complaint in Missouri Western District Court Thursday, alleging that the company is putting employee lives at risk by failing to comply with Center for Disease Control and Prevention safety guidelines concerning the COVID-19 pandemic.  

The case, filed by lawyers at Heartland Center for Jobs and Freedom, Towards Justice and Public Justice, is the first to challenge working conditions at a meat packing plant, according to Public Justice senior attorney David Muraskin.

The suit seeks an injunction that would compel Smithfield to comply with CDC and state health official guidelines, including admonitions to reduce face-to-face contact in the workplace, to provide for physical distance of 6 feet between employees and to offer sick leave policies that encourage sick employees to stay home. 

"Notwithstanding the horrific situation facing many of its employees around the country and abundantly clear guidance from the [CDC] and state public health officials, Smithfield continues to operate its plant in Milan, Missouri in a manner that contributes to the spread of [the] disease," the complaint states.

Unlike Smithfield plants in South Dakota and Wisconsin, the Missouri plant continues to operate. Employees are working "shoulder to shoulder" without sufficient protective gear, and forced to take breaks in cramped spaces where social distancing is impossible, the complaint states. Company policies incentivize sick employees to come to work, the suit alleges.

The plaintiffs contend that Smithfield's policies endanger the broader Milan community, as well as workers, by creating conditions for the spread of COVID-19. 

Keira Lombardo, Smithfield Foods executive vice president for corporate affairs and compliance, denied the suit's assertions in an emailed statement: "The allegations contained in the complaint are without factual or legal merit and include claims previously made against the company that have been investigated and determined to be unfounded. We look forward to aggressively defending the company in court."

Participating in the Missouri case is a Smithfield employee of more than five years, who is proceeding under a pseudonym due to fear of retaliation. The Jane Doe plaintiff claims to know more than half a dozen co-workers who have displayed symptoms of COVID-19.

On April 12, Smithfield's Sioux Falls, South Dakota, plant was forced to close indefinitely after more than 500 employees became infected with COVID-19. Days later, Smithfield's Cudahay, Wisconsin, plant was also shuttered due to employees testing positive for the coronavirus. Earlier Thursday, five cases of the coronavirus were confirmed at the Smithfield plant in Crete, Nebraska.

Muraskin, of Public Justice, said his team is investigating the conditions at Smithfield plants in Nebraska, North Carolina, Colorado, Arkansas and Pennsylvania and expects to file additional suits.

Smithfield has been under fire for what critics see as a lackluster response to the pandemic and some experts are predicting a national meat shortage as the industry continues dealing with the spread of the illness in its production plants.

The case is Rural Community Workers Alliance v. Smithfield Foods, 5:20-cv-06063.

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