Workplace safety is an imperative at Perdue Farms that includes an uncompromising company commitment and an ongoing safety culture that engages all our associates.
Our focus remains on ensuring we provide safe places for our associates to work and returning them home safely at the end of each workday.
Perdue has a standard, companywide safety program that encourages active associate participation and input. Associates take part in safety committees, which meet regularly to discuss safety issues, as well as perform safety inspections before the start of each work shift. Associates have the authority to stop production or prevent start-up if any unsafe conditions exist. In addition, every associate attends safety awareness training and is encouraged to look for and report
any potential hazard.
Safety Highlights
Perdue Transportation Inc. truck drivers are some of the safest on the road and among our company’s most visible ambassadors. This past year, 10 Perdue drivers achieved safe driving milestones without a Department of Transportation recordable incident. We salute their commitment to safety!
3 Million Miles
2 Million Miles
1 Million Miles
We are committed to involving our associates in creating a safe, secure, inclusive, productive and healthy work environment with competitive wages and benefits, and to complying with all applicable laws and regulations. This includes:
We offer competitive wages and a comprehensive benefits package, including options for medical, dental and vision coverage, a 401(k) savings plan with dollar-for-dollar match up to 5 percent of pay, and profit-sharing bonuses. Regular checks of local market wages through publicly available information and the use of compensation surveys ensure we remain competitive in each area in which we operate our business.
We continue to comply with all applicable wage and hour laws and regulations, including those related to minimum wage, overtime compensation, piece rates and any/all legally mandated benefits.
Our production facilities provide regular and scheduled breaks for meals and rest during the workday. We also maintain adequate staffing levels to accommodate associate requests for personal breaks during shifts and we pride ourselves on the cleanliness and appearance of all facilities available for associate use.
We publish all associate policies and procedures for our associates to view via kiosks in our plants or from their HR departments.
We also require that our associates and anyone working on our behalf
– including business partners, vendors, service providers, independent contractors and each of their subcontractors - comply with all the laws and regulations in the countries in which they and Perdue operate, as well as with our company’s procedures and policies.
We also require that our associates and anyone working on our behalf - including business partners, vendors, service providers, independent contractors and each of their subcontractors - comply with all the laws and regulations in the countries in which they and Perdue operate, as well as with our company’s procedures and policies.
In particular, Perdue Farms requires that everyone working for Perdue and/or in a Perdue facility adhere to an absolute prohibition on the use of human trafficking, slavery or involuntary labor of any kind, including child labor and indentured labor.
Our safety programs create a culture of safety at our operations and position our workplaces as among the safest in the manufacturing sector, with key OSHA metrics better than the manufacturing sector as a whole, and among the best among poultry companies.
Most of Perdue’s on-site Wellness Centers include fully equipped “doctor’s offices” staffed by healthcare providers from the community, providing associates and their dependents convenient access to primary care. As of January 1, 2018, we eliminated the co-pay for associates participating in our health plan to use the Wellness Center, including doctor and other health care provider appointments. Associates can make appointments during work hours and “stay on the clock” during their appointments.
Perdue is committed to treating all associates with dignity and respect and has a strong policy against any form of discrimination, harassment or abuse. This includes discrimination or harassment based on race, national origin, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation or religious beliefs. Any individual found guilty of this type of conduct would be dealt with severely, up to and including termination of employment.
We take pride in the diversity of our workforce and the manner in which our facilities attract and bring together people from different racial, ethnic, religious and cultural backgrounds.
In 2014, we committed to move beyond diversity by taking a more active role in creating an inclusionary workplace. Perdue Farms is signatory to CEO Action for Diversity and Inclusion. We now have our Inclusion Council, composed of diverse associates representing different areas of the company, providing direct input to the senior management team. We also have a number of Associate Resource Groups designed to help us build a diverse, inclusive and engaged workforce and workplace. We designated a Vice President of Talent Management and Chief Diversity Officer to help guide our path forward.
As part of our Equal Employment Opportunity Policy, we reaffirm our commitment to recruit, hire, train, promote and administer all personnel actions without regard to color, religion, age, sex, gender identity, national origin, marital status, sexual orientation, veteran status, status as a qualified individual with a disability or any other characteristic protected by law.
Further, as a government contractor/subcontractor, we annually write Affirmative Action Plans for each unit within the company and as part of that exercise, we thoroughly analyze all company practices to ensure discrimination does not exist. Perdue encourages diversity through targeted recruiting strategies.
Our Diversity and Inclusion Video
We prefer to take a team approach to management, and the Perdue Continuous Improvement Process encourages associate involvement and engagement by seeking their input, experience and insights to help us improve our processes, increase efficiencies and reduce waste. Committees such as Safety Teams, Diversity and Inclusion Teams, Green Teams, and teams focused on food safety and quality include both hourly and salaried associates working together.
We hold associate roundtables on a regular basis, in which associates can bring up any topic they wish to discuss. A rotating schedule ensures we include almost all of our hourly associates during the year.
We provide all associates with several mechanisms to air their grievances or concerns.
We strive for an environment in which a union would have nothing to offer our associates. We believe that when and if problems arise, they are best worked out with honest and frank discussions in an atmosphere of mutual trust, respect and cooperation directly between management and associates.
We have a number of Associate Resource Groups (ARGs) designed to help us build a diverse, inclusive and engaged workforce and workplace. Our associates are the backbone of our company and our success, so it’s important that we attract, develop and retain a workforce that reflects the diversity of our stakeholders and our communities.
Learn about the steps we're taking to reach our goal of becoming the most trusted name in food and agricultural products.
