Benefits

Poultry workers in Arkansas have limited access to health benefits such asearned sick leave and comprehensive health insurance. Overall, very few poultry processing workers have access to earned sick leave. According to survey, foreign-born workers were much less likely to have any sick leave benefits at all, paid or unpaid. Although a significant number of the workers surveyed reported that they have access to health insurance through their jobs, many of these workers also reported that their options for care are restricted to services provided at their place of employment, the quality of which may be questionable. [66]

Sick leave

Of the workers surveyed for this report, less than one in ten workers (9%) reported having access to earned sick leave. Three out of ten workers reported having unpaid sick days (5–15 days per year, often on a point system) and nearly one-third of all workers (32%) reported having no sick leave at all, either paid or unpaid. A significant number of workers (29%) reported having no knowledge of their employer’s policy on sick leave, paid or otherwise.

Foreign-born workers were much less likely than U.S.-born workers to get any paid or unpaid sick leave, and they were about five times more likely to receive no sick leave at all. Over half of black and white workers reported that they had access to unpaid sick days while only 11% of Latino and 22% of Asian-Pacific Islander (API) workers reported having unpaid sick days. One of the workers interviewed reported that workers are not reimbursed for any sick leave unless they file a request through the Family Medical Leave Act. [67]

Many of the workers who reported having unpaid sick leave also noted that they receive this leave on a “point system.” Point systems are relatively common across a variety of industries and occupations; employees receive points for being absent from or late to work due to illness, injury, family member illness, or other reason. Reaching a certain number of points usually leads to disciplinary action, or including termination in some cases. A 2013 Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) report on the poultry processing industry in Alabama found that 97% of workers surveyed reported the existence of a point system at their place of work.

One poultry worker interviewed described the following system at his workplace:

“If you call in sick you get a point. Or if you have a doctor’s appointment you will get half a point. . . . If you reach 13 points then you will get [fired].”

The worker said that points are also given if a worker takes a bathroom break longer than five minutes. [68] The use of a point system clearly discourages poultry processing workers from taking breaks and taking time off to see to their health needs.

A lack of sick days and the use of attendance-driven point systems forceworkers to “choose between their health and their employment.” [69] Injured or ill workers risk being fired if they miss work to treat a health issue, while at the same time risking exacerbating an existing injury or illness if forced to stay at work rather than seek treatment.

Of the workers surveyed for this report, over half reported that they had a work-related injury or illness, and 22% of workers surveyed reported being fired for experiencing a problematic health issue. This experience is not specific to the Arkansas poultry industry. The SPLC report found that 72% of individuals surveyed described experiencing a significant work-related injury or illness.70 A lack of sick leave heightens unsafe conditions for workers in the processing facilities, as well as the poultry products they come in contact with. Our survey results and interviews revealed that workers often worked while sick or injured.

“There are so many times I went to work but I am sick,” said one poultry worker. “The reason I go to work is because if I don’t go I will get a point.” [71] “Even if you call in sick and bring a doctor’s note,” the worker said, “they still will give you half a point. There are so many times when I feel weak because I am sick but I need to be at work because I don’t want to get a point.”

Another worker at a different plant described a similar situation. They reported working while sick on at least four or five occasions to avoid getting disciplinary points.

“Some of the guys said that if you are absent from work because you are sick then you will get [a] point,” the worker said. “If you reach ten points then you get fired . . . [but] every time I ask for how many points I have they never tell me.” [72]

There is considerable opposition to punitive sick leave policies like point systems in the poultry industry. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) had a recent ruling citing that point system sick leave policies are discriminatory against individuals with disabilities and other health issues. [73] However, there are currently no federal requirements for paid sick leave, and Arkansas has not passed any comprehensive state-wide paid sick leave policies like states, including California and Connecticut.

Health care

Many workers report having health insurance, however the health care they can access is often not affordable. Of workers surveyed, 86% have access to health insurance. Most workers receive these benefits through their employer (96%). A small number said that they pay for health insurance on their own or that they have government-sponsored health insurance such as Medicaid. Foreign-born and Latino workers are slightly less likely to have insurance than U.S.-born workers (see Table 6).

NWAWJC survey results indicate that the health insurance provided to poultry workers by their employers is often not affordable. Even though a majority of workers surveyed have access to employer-sponsored health insurance, only about one-fifth (22%) of workers felt that they are always able to pay the costs if medical treatment is needed. A little over half (55%) of workers surveyed said that they are able to pay for treatment “sometimes,” and only 15% were able to pay “most times” (see Table 7). This finding calls into question the comprehensiveness and quality of the plans offered.

When medical treatment is needed by workers, three out of ten (31%) said that they go to a private doctor, two out of ten (20%) said they go to a doctor provided by their employer, and 15% reported that they perform self-treatment. Where workers seek medical treatment may depend on whether or not they have insurance. Workers with health insurance were more likely to receive medical treatment from a doctor through their job than workers without health insurance. Workers without health insurance were more likely to see a private doctor, go to a regional clinic, or seek self-treatment than workers who have insurance (see Table 8).

The survey results show that workers with health insurance most often receive their treatment through a doctor provided by their employer. This may be related to the sick leave policies described in the previous section. These policies are designed to encourage workers to keep working rather than miss work, which would happen if the worker wanted to see a doctor off-site during hours when they would typically be working.

Other research has also cast doubt on whether the treatment workers receive from company doctors is sufficient to help workers who do get sick or injured on the job, [74] and whether employees are discouraged from seeking comprehensive medical care when they are sick or injured. A recent news article by the Huffington Post documents an Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) investigation of a poultry processing firm. The firm was cited after it was found to have discouraged its employees from seeking treatment from or reporting injuries to outside doctors. [75] This behavior by employers may artificially depress injury and illness reporting rates among poultry workers, making their jobs seem safer than they really are.

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