HB 1923

PRIOR PRINTER'S NO. 2402  PRINTER'S NO.    2819
                THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
                    HOUSE BILL
                    No. 1923
                                          Session of
                                            2025
INTRODUCED BY HADDOCK, GIRAL, VENKAT, PROBST, KHAN, FREEMAN,
   SANCHEZ, MALAGARI, McNEILL, KENYATTA, DONAHUE, BRENNAN, HILL-
   EVANS, STEELE, SCHLOSSBERG, DEASY, GREEN, MADDEN, CEPEDA-
   FREYTIZ, FIEDLER, K.HARRIS, WAXMAN, BURGOS, RIVERA AND SMITH-
   WADE-EL, OCTOBER 3, 2025
AS REPORTED FROM COMMITTEE ON LABOR AND INDUSTRY, HOUSE OF
   REPRESENTATIVES, AS AMENDED, JANUARY 28, 2026
                               AN ACT
1 Providing for regulation of the meat packing and food processing
2    industry by creating facility health and safety committees in
3    the workplace; establishing the industry workers' rights
4    coordinator within the Department of Labor and Industry; and <--
5    providing for public health emergency protections for workers
6    AND IMPOSING PENALTIES.  <--
7    The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
8 hereby enacts as follows:
9 Section 1.   Short title.
10    This act shall be known and may be cited as the Meat Packing
11 and Food Processing Protection Act.
12 Section 2.   Definitions.
13    The following words and phrases when used in this act shall
14 have the meanings given to them in this section unless the
15 context clearly indicates otherwise:
16    "Department."    The Department of Labor and Industry of the
17 Commonwealth.
18    "Employee."    An individual who is employed by an employer.
1    "Employer."      A business that employs 100 or more employees at
2 a single facility, including independent contractors and
3 employees hired by a temporary hiring or staffing agency located
4 in this Commonwealth, and meets all of the following criteria:
5(1)   The business is any of the following:
6(i)    Licensed under the act of July 9, 1968 (P.L.304,
7No.151), known as the Pennsylvania Meat and Poultry
8Hygiene Law of 1968.
9(ii)    A food establishment subject to 3 Pa.C.S. Ch.
1057 Subch. B (relating to food safety).
11(iii)    Subject to inspection by the Food Safety
12Inspection Service under 21 U.S.C. Ch. 12 (relating to
13meat inspection) or 15 (relating to egg products
14inspection).
15(2)   The business is registered as a food facility
16    under Public Health Security and Bioterrorism Preparedness
17    and Response Act of 2002 (Public Law 107-188, 116 Stat. 594).
18    "Facility."      The location of an employer where the employees
19 perform job-related duties or the following occurs, but shall
20 not be limited to the following:
21(1)   slaughtering or butchering;
22(2)   meat canning, meat packing or meat manufacturing;
23(3)   poultry canning, packing or manufacturing;
24(4)   pet food manufacturing;
25(5)   egg production;
26(6)   processing of meat packing products;
27(7)   commercial packaging;
28(8)   the making, cooking, mixing, processing, bottling,
29    baking, canning, freezing, packing or rendering of meat
30    products; or
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1(9)     the making, cooking, mixing, processing, bottling,
2    baking, canning, freezing, packing or rendering of products
3    intended for human consumption.
4    "Facility health and safety committee" or "committee."     A
5 committee authorized and established under section 5.
6    "Full-time employee."    An employee who works, in a calendar        <--
7 month, at least an average of 30 hours per week.
8    "Industry workers' rights coordinator" or "coordinator."       The
9 coordinator appointed by the secretary under section 5(j).
10    "Part-time employee."    An employee who works, in a calendar        <--
11 month, less than an average of 30 hours per week.
12    "Public health emergency."    One or more of the following
13 occurrences:
14(1)     Imminent threat of an illness or health condition
15    caused by epidemic or pandemic disease.
16(2)     A novel and highly fatal infectious agent or
17    biological toxin that poses a substantial risk of a
18    significant number of human fatalities or permanent or long-
19    term disability.
20(3)     A declaration by the Governor of disaster emergency
21    under 35 Pa.C.S. § 7301(c) (relating to general authority of
22    Governor) issued because of an occurrence described in
23    paragraph (1) or (2).
24(4)     A Federal public health emergency declared by the
25    United States Secretary of Health and Human Services.
26(5)     A national public health emergency declared by the
27    President of the United States.
28    "Secretary."    The Secretary of Labor and Industry of the
29 Commonwealth.
30 Section 3.   Training provided by employer.
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1    (a)   Health and safety information.--Upon hire, an employer
2 must provide to an employee in the language that the employee
3 speaks, if at least 5% of the employer's workforce speaks the
4 language, information on the following:
5(1)   Health risks directly associated with the duties of
6    employment, including repetitive strain injuries,
7    musculoskeletal disorders and respiratory hazards under 29
8    U.S.C. Ch. 15 (relating to occupational safety and health)
9    and related Federal regulations.
10(2)   The employee's right to seek medical care for
11    injuries that occur as a result of employment under the act
12    of June 2, 1915 (P.L.736, No.338), known as the Workers'
13    Compensation Act.
14(3)   A summary of the rights and requirements under 29
15    U.S.C. Ch. 15 and related Federal regulations.
16(4)   The facility health and safety committee established
17    under section 5.
18(5)   The employee's right to unpaid sick time off as        <--
19    provided under section 4.
20(6) (5)   The employee's right to seek workers'  <--
21    compensation for work-related injuries.
22    (b)   Training provided.--
23(1)   An employer shall provide worker safety training to
24    new employees during normal working hours and at the standard
25    rate of compensation.
26(2)   Training shall be available in languages spoken by
27    at least 5% of employees.
28(3)   Training shall be provided without a penalty imposed
29    by the employer.
30(4)   An employee shall have the right to additional
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1    training, upon request, within 30 days of the employee's hire
2    date.
3(5)   An employee shall be paid the regular rate of pay
4    during training.
5 Section 4.     Sick and medical EMERGENCY MEDICAL TRANSPORTATION     <--
6benefits.
7    (a)   Sick time.--  <--
8(1)   An employer shall provide its full-time employees
9    not less than seven unpaid sick days to be used for illness
10    or injury annually. Unpaid sick time may be used for care to
11    the employee or for care to a sick or injured immediate
12    family member.
13(2)   An employer shall provide its part-time employees
14    five unpaid sick days to be used for illness or injury
15    annually. Unpaid sick time may be used to care for the
16    employee or to care for a sick or injured immediate family
17    member.
18(3)   This subsection shall not apply to an employer that
19    provides paid sick time to its employees.
20    (b)   Medical transportation.--If an employee is injured or
21 becomes ill at the facility as a result of duties associated
22 with the employee's employment and requires immediate emergency
23 medical attention that cannot be acquired from an on-site
24 licensed medical professional, the employer shall pay for out-
25 of-pocket expenses not covered by an insurance plan associated
26 with the emergency medical transportation.
27 Section 5.     Facility health and safety committee.
28    (a)   Establishment.--An employer shall establish and
29 administer a joint labor-management facility health and safety
30 committee to help reduce the risk of injury and unsafe
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1 conditions at the facility.
2    (b)   Committee membership.--
3(1)   The committee membership shall represent all primary
4    operations of the workplace.
5(2)   The committees shall be composed of a minimum of two
6    employer-representatives and a minimum of two employee-
7    representatives. If more than two employees are required to
8    represent each office of the workplace, the employer shall
9    require a minimum number of employees from each office to be
10    represented on the committee.
11(3)   Employer-representatives must be individuals who,
12    regardless of job title or labor organization affiliation,
13    based upon an examination of that individual's authority or
14    responsibility, perform one or more of the following duties:
15(i)     Select or hire an employee.
16(ii)     Remove or terminate an employee.
17(iii)     Direct the manner of employee performance.
18(iv)     Control an employee.
19(4)   Employee-representatives must be individuals who
20    perform services for an employer for valuable consideration
21    and do not possess the authority or responsibility described
22    in paragraph (3).
23(5)   An individual may not function as both an employer-
24    representative and an employee-representative.
25(6)   If a collective bargaining agreement is in place at
26    the facility:
27(i)    Paragraph (4) shall not apply.
28(ii)    The union may select the employee-
29representatives.
30(iii)    Employee-representatives may be union
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1representatives who are not employees at the facility.
2    (c)   Committee formation.--
3(1)   An employer that has only one workplace within this
4    Commonwealth shall form a single workplace safety committee
5    at the workplace.
6(2)   An employer that has more than one workplace within
7    this Commonwealth shall form separate and individual safety
8    committees at each facility within this Commonwealth.
9(3)   The committee shall be composed of at least an equal
10    number of employer-representatives and employee-
11    representatives.
12(4)   The committee shall establish procedures that retain
13    a core group of experienced members to serve on the committee
14    at all times.
15(5)   Employee-representatives of the committees shall:
16(i)    Be permitted to take reasonable time from work
17to perform committee duties without loss of pay or
18benefits.
19(ii)   Join the committee for a continuous term of one
20year from the date of the first meeting attended.
21    (d)   Committee responsibilities.--The facility health and
22 safety committee shall have the following responsibilities:
23(1)   Represent the accident and illness prevention
24    concerns of employees for the employer.
25(2)   Review the employer's hazard detection and accident
26    and illness prevention programs and formulate written
27    proposals.
28(3)   Establish procedures for periodic workplace
29    inspections by the committee for the purpose of locating and
30    identifying health and safety hazards. The locations and
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1  identity of hazards shall be documented in writing, and the
2  committee shall make proposals to the employer regarding
3  correction of the hazards.
4      (4)    Conduct a review of incidents resulting in work-
5  related deaths, injuries and illnesses and of complaints
6  regarding health and safety hazards made by committee members
7  or other employees.
8      (5)    Conduct follow-up evaluations of newly implemented
9  health and safety equipment or health and safety procedures
10  to assess effectiveness.
11      (6)    Establish a system to allow the committee members to
12  obtain safety-related proposals, reports of hazards or other
13  information directly from individuals involved in the
14  operation of the workplace.
15      (7)    Develop operating procedures, including rules or
16  bylaws prescribing the committee's duties.
17      (8)    Develop and maintain membership lists.
18      (9)    Develop a written agenda for meetings.
19      (10)    Maintain committee meeting attendance lists.
20      (11)    Take and maintain minutes of committee meetings
21  that the employer shall review. Copies of minutes shall be
22  posted or made available for all employees and shall be sent
23  to each committee member.
24      (12)    Ensure that the reports, evaluations and proposals
25  of the committee become part of the minutes of the meeting
26  which shall include:
27(i)     Inspection reports.
28(ii)     Reports on specific hazards and corrective
29      measures taken.
30(iii)     Reports on workplace injuries or illnesses.
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1(iv)   Management responses to committee reports.
2    (e)   Committee meetings.--
3(1)   A quorum of committee members shall meet at least
4    monthly. A quorum shall consist of at least two-thirds of
5    committee members being present.
6(2)   All decisions made by the committee at a meeting
7    shall be made by a majority vote.
8    (f)   Committee member training.--The employer shall provide
9 adequate, annual training programs for each committee member.
10 Committee member training shall, at a minimum, address:
11(1)   Hazard detection and inspection.
12(2)   Accident and illness prevention and investigation,
13    including substance abuse awareness and prevention training,
14    safety committee structure and operation.
15(3)   Other health and safety concerns specific to the
16    business of the employer.
17    (g)   Committee training records.--An employer shall provide
18 verification of trainer qualifications to the industry workers'
19 rights coordinator appointed under subsection (j) and supply, as
20 necessary, documentation supporting individual trainer
21 qualifications. The employer shall maintain written records of
22 facility health and safety committee training, including:
23(1)   The names of committee members trained.
24(2)   The dates of training.
25(3)   The training time period.
26(4)   The training methodology.
27(5)   The names and credentials of personnel conducting
28    the training.
29(6)   The names of training organizations sponsoring
30    training, if applicable.
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1(7)   The training location.
2(8)   The training topics.
3    (h)    Interference prohibited.--No employer may interfere with
4 the selection of employee-representatives to serve on the
5 committee or the ability for employee-representatives to perform
6 the duties authorized under this section.
7    (i)    Loss of pay prohibited during training.--An employer
8 shall permit committee members to attend a training without loss
9 of pay.
10    (j)    Industry workers' rights coordinator.--
11(1)   The secretary shall appoint an industry workers'
12    rights coordinator to the department to help enforce this
13    section.
14(2)   The coordinator shall review and investigate
15    complaints and make recommendations on worker health and
16    safety standards of employers in this Commonwealth.
17(3)   An employer shall provide the coordinator full
18    access to facility operations at times that employees are
19    performing job-related duties at the facility.
20(4)   The coordinator, either on the coordinator's
21    initiative or in response to a complaint, shall investigate
22    an employer's compliance with this section.
23 Section 6.      Public health emergency response.  <--
24    (a)    Model plan.--After a declaration of a public health
25 emergency, the department, in consultation with the Secretary of
26 Health, shall create and publish, in English, Spanish and any
27 language spoken by at least 5% of the workforce in this
28 Commonwealth, a model infectious disease exposure prevention
29 plan and a model infectious disease exposure prevention standard
30 to address the public health emergency specific to the meat
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1 packing and food processing industry to prevent infectious
2 disease exposure, and to protect employees and the food chain
3 from exposure to infectious disease.
4    (b)   Plan contents.--
5(1)   Each model infectious disease exposure prevention
6    plan and model infectious disease exposure prevention
7    standard shall take into account the types of risks present
8    at industry facilities, including:
9(i)    A facility's maximum occupancy.
10(ii)    The proximity of workstations to each other and
11the proximity of employees to each other.
12(iii)    Access to personal protective equipment.
13(iv)    The ability to socially distance while
14performing job duties.
15(2)   Each model infectious disease exposure prevention
16    plan and model infectious disease exposure prevention
17    standard shall take into consideration all applicable
18    Federal, State and local established standards.
19(3)   The models shall include establishing requirements
20    on procedures and methods for:
21(i)    Employee health screenings.
22(ii)    Face coverings at no cost to the employee.
23(iii)    Required personal protective equipment
24applicable to the industry for eyes, face, head and
25extremities, protective clothing, respiratory devices and
26protective shields and barriers that shall be provided,
27used and maintained in a sanitary and reliable condition
28at the expense of the employer.
29(iv)    Accessible facility hand hygiene stations to
30maintain healthy hand hygiene, and that employers provide
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1      adequate break times for workers to use hand-washing
2      facilities as needed.
3(v)    Regular cleaning and disinfecting of shared
4      equipment and frequently touched surfaces, including
5      workstations, equipment, door handles, railings and all
6      surfaces and washable items in other high-risk areas,
7      including restrooms, dining areas, break rooms and locker
8      rooms.
9(vi)    Effective social distancing for employees as
10      the risk of illness may warrant, including options for
11      social distancing, including sign postage or markers,
12      increasing physical space between workers at the
13      facility, limiting the maximum occupancy of facilities,
14      reconfiguring spaces where workers congregate or
15      implementing flexible work hours such as staggered
16      shifts.
17(vii)    Compliance with mandatory or precautionary
18      orders of isolation or quarantine that have been issued
19      to employees.
20(viii)    Compliance with applicable engineering
21      controls, including proper air flow, exhaust ventilation
22      or other special design requirements.
23(ix)    Designation of one or more supervisory
24      employees to enforce compliance with the infectious
25      disease exposure prevention plan and other Federal, State
26      or local guidelines related to avoidance of spreading an
27      infectious disease as applicable to employees.
28(x)    Compliance with applicable laws, rules,
29      regulations, standards or guidelines on notification to
30      employees and relevant Federal, State and local agencies
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1of potential exposure to infectious disease at the
2facility.
3(xi)    Verbal review of infectious disease standards,
4employer policies and employee rights under this section,
5including an employee's right to an interpreter for the
6purpose of reviewing infectious disease standards.
7(xii)   Anti-retaliation provisions.
8 Section 7.     Employer duties during public health emergency.
9    (a)   Adoption of plan.--
10(1)   Upon declaration of a public health emergency, an
11    employer shall adopt an infectious disease exposure
12    prevention plan either through adopting the model infectious
13    disease exposure prevention plan developed by the department
14    under section 6 that applies to the employer's industry or by
15    designing, adopting and implementing an infectious disease
16    exposure prevention plan that equals or exceeds the model
17    plan developed by the department.
18(2)   If the employer does not adopt the model plan, the
19    adopted plan shall be made in consultation with the designee
20    from the collective bargaining agreement, if any, and the
21    facility health and safety committee.
22    (b)   Distribution of plan to employees.--
23(1)   Employers shall distribute, in writing, the
24    infectious disease prevention plan adopted under subsection
25    (a) to each employee in the language that the employee
26    speaks, for each language spoken by at least 5% of the
27    workforce.
28(2)   The infectious disease prevention plan shall be
29    posted in visible and prominent locations within the
30    facility, including break areas, restrooms, dining areas and
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1    locker rooms.
2    (c)   Adverse action prohibited.--An employer or employer's
3 agent may not threaten, retaliate against or take adverse action
4 against an employee for:
5(1)   Exercising the employee's rights under this section
6    or under the applicable infectious disease exposure
7    prevention plan.
8(2)   Reporting violations of this section or the
9    applicable infectious disease exposure prevention plan to a
10    Federal, State or local government entity, public officer or
11    elected official.
12(3)   Reporting an infectious disease exposure concern to,
13    or seeking assistance or intervention with respect to
14    airborne infectious disease exposure concerns, the employer,
15    Federal, State or local government entity, public officer or
16    elected official.
17(4)   Refusing to work where the employee reasonably
18    believes, in good faith, that the work exposes the employee,
19    or other workers or the public, to an unreasonable risk of
20    exposure to an infectious disease due to the existence of
21    working conditions that are inconsistent with law, rule,
22    policy or order of a governmental entity, including the
23    minimum standards provided by the model infectious disease
24    exposure prevention standard, if:
25(i)    the employee, another employee or employee
26representative notified the employer of the inconsistent
27working conditions and the employer failed to cure the
28conditions; or
29(ii)    the employer had or should have had reason to
30know about the inconsistent working conditions and
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1maintained the inconsistent working conditions.
2 Section 8.     Public health emergency unpaid sick time.
3    (a)   Adoption of policy required.--
4(1)   During a public health emergency, an employer shall
5    adopt an unpaid sick time policy that provides not less than
6    80 additional hours to an employee to be used for an
7    employee's or immediate family member's exposure or infection
8    to the infectious disease related to the declaration.
9(2)   An employer may not require an employee to use
10    unpaid sick time provided under section 4 before utilizing
11    public health emergency unpaid sick time as provided under
12    this section.
13(3)   Public health emergency unpaid sick time may not be
14    carried forward and shall cease at the expiration of the
15    declaration of the public health emergency.
16    (b)   (Reserved).
17 Section 9 6.     Anti-retaliation.  <--
18    An employer may not penalize, discriminate against, dismiss
19 or discharge an employee for exercising any of the employee's
20 rights under this act.
21 Section 10 7.     Enforcement and penalties.  <--
22    (a)   Employer failure to comply.--  <--
23(1)   Upon investigation and a determination by the
24    department that an employer failed to comply with the  <--
25    provisions of section 3, 4, 5 or 9 THIS ACT, the department       <--
26    may assess an administrative penalty of $500 per day until
27    the failure is cured. If the employer does not cure the
28    failure within 10 days, the department may assess an
29    administrative penalty of not more than $10,000 per day for
30    every day exceeding 10 days.
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1(2)   Upon investigation and determination that an        <--
2    employer has failed to comply with the provisions of section
3    7, the department may assess an administrative penalty of
4    $500 per day that the employer fails to adopt an infectious
5    disease exposure prevention plan, not to exceed $100,000 for
6    failure to comply with an adopted infectious disease exposure
7    prevention plan.
8    (b)   Civil actions.--
9(1)   An employee may bring a civil action seeking
10    injunctive relief in a court of competent jurisdiction
11    against an employer alleged to have violated the infectious
12    disease exposure prevention plan in a manner that creates a
13    substantial probability that death or serious physical harm
14    could result from a condition which exists, unless the
15    employer did not know and could not have known, with the
16    exercise of reasonable diligence, of the presence of the
17    violation.
18(2)   The court shall have jurisdiction to restrain the
19    violation and to order all appropriate relief, including
20    enjoining the conduct of the employer, awarding costs and
21    reasonable attorney fees to the employee and ordering payment
22    of liquidated damages of no greater than $10,000, unless the
23    employer can demonstrate a good faith belief that the
24    established and implemented health and safety measures were
25    in compliance with the applicable infectious disease exposure
26    prevention standard.
27 Section 11 8.    Regulations.  <--
28    The department may promulgate regulations as necessary to
29 carry out the provisions of this act.
30 Section 12 9.    Collective bargaining agreements.  <--
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1    Nothing in this act shall be construed to diminish the
2 rights, privileges or remedies of an employee under a collective
3 bargaining agreement. The provisions of this act may be waived
4 by a collective bargaining agreement provided that, for the
5 waiver to be valid, the waiver explicitly references the section
6 of this act that is waived. Upon mutual agreement with a union
7 currently representing or negotiating the terms of a contract
8 for representation of the employees at the facility, an employer
9 may opt out of the provisions of this act. The mutual agreement
10 shall be in writing and shall be binding against the employer
11 and the union to the full extent of a collective bargaining
12 agreement.
13 Section 13 10.   Abrogation of regulations.  <--
14    Any and all regulations are abrogated to the extent of any
15 inconsistency with this act.
16 Section 14 11.   Effective date.  <--
17    This act shall take effect in 90 days.
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