Family of deceased poultry worker sues employer
The family of a Canadian poultry worker has filed a lawsuit against the man’s employer for negligence, claiming that the company did not comply with provincial employment standards. Bao Min Cheng, 42, died on March 22, 2013 from heart failure after working a 13-hour shift at a slaughterhouse owned by Hallmark Poultry Processors Ltd.
According to CBC News, the civil claim was filed on behalf of Cheng’s widow, Mei Juan Li and their four children. The suit claims that the company makes a practice of hiring Chinese immigrants to process chickens and has them work up to 70 hours per week. The suit claims that Hallmark owes its workers a "standard of care...to ensure that their working conditions are safe and that the nature of the work required and the amount of time spent doing the required work does not place its employees in risk of harm or death."
An employee at Hallmark told CBC News that the company has more than 500 people, most of whom were Cantonese-speaking people. The company did not offer a comment on the lawsuit.
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