Tyson Foods Inc. has hired a chief medical officer to oversee employee health, safety and wellness following lawsuits and criticism over COVID-19 outbreaks among workers at some of the Springdale, Arkansas-based meatpacking company’s plants.
Dr. Claudia Coplein, who most recently served as chief medical officer for Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co., will focus on protecting Tyson’s workers from COVID-19 and also oversee the launch of a pilot program establishing workplace health clinics run by Marathon Health LLC in seven of Tyson’s plant communities, the company announced in a statement Thursday.
Dr. Coplein is based in Atlanta.
More insurance and workers compensation news on the coronavirus crisis here.
The Centers for Food Safety and the Food Chain Workers Alliance have filed a rulemaking petition with the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration, urging the agency to issue an emergency temporary standard to protect workers in the meat and poultry processing industries.