Rural Community Workers Alliance v. Smithfield Foods, Inc., No. 5:20-cv-06063-DGK, Doc. 51 (W.D. Mo. May 5, 2020) (Kays, J.), 459 F. Supp. 3d 1228

Order granting motion to dismiss under the primary-jurisdiction doctrine. The CDC-OSHA Meat and Poultry Processing Workers and Employers Interim Guidance ('the Joint Guidance') described at 5-6; 'Plaintiffs' claims both succeed or fail on the determination of whether the Plant is complying with the Joint Guidance. Due to its expertise and experience with workplace regulation, OSHA... is better positioned to make this determination than the Court is. Indeed, this determination goes to the heart of OSHA's special competence' (at 15-16); 'the Court holds that the issue of Smithfield's compliance with OSHA's guidelines and regulations falls squarely within OSHA/USDA's jurisdiction' (at 17); 'the Court cannot ignore the USDA's and OSHA's authority over compliance with the Joint Guidance' (at 24). Smithfield's policies found 'consistent with the Joint Guidance as of April 29, 2020' (at 10).