Team Members | JBS USA | Sustainability Report

2020 Key Facts and Figures

>18,000

frontline supervisors trained through our People First Program

>730,000

hours of in-person and online leadership training and development provided

DART

rates below industry averages

56%

improvement in Safety Index

Aligning to the UN SDGs

The success of our company starts with the success of our people. For the past decade, we have focused on providing a safe and well-managed workplace that enables our team members to thrive and have better futures. We are humbled by our committed and dedicated workforce of more than 100,000 team members—66,510 of whom are based in the U.S. and Puerto Rico, 2,650 in Canada, 10,500 in Mexico, 15,000 in Europe and 10,200 in Australia and New Zealand. Ninety-nine percent of our team members work in production facilities, and one percent work at the JBS USA corporate offices around the world.

Our Management Approach

Our managers reinforce JBS USA’s culture of respect by being available to team members who want to discuss issues. All management policies and programs are annually reviewed by management teams, and specific team member issues are reviewed weekly or as frequently as necessary to address issues.

To ensure that our policies and programs are functioning correctly, JBS USA measures and evaluates health and safety, turnover, absenteeism and overtime indicators each week. This allows us to make immediate adjustments if necessary and ensure team member health, safety and working conditions are upheld according to JBS standards across all facilities.

We operate all our facilities in compliance with labor and human rights laws. We also adhere to strict internal policies and programs that provide additional guidance to best serve our team members. The company has a zero-tolerance policy on child or forced labor. Our background check policy does support re-entry into the workforce of persons with a criminal record dependent on several factors including the assessment of potential risks and liabilities, the “nature and gravity” of the individual’s criminal offense or conduct and the nature of the duties and essential function of the position sought. JBS USA does not permit degrading conditions in the workplace that could put our team members’ health or lives at risk. We uphold all applicable wage and hour laws, such as minimum wage and overtime compensation, and all legally mandated benefits. For our hourly team members, we do a competitive wage analysis two times per year, and for salaried team members, we do a competitive wage analysis one time per year to ensure we are paying competitively for where they work and live. Salaries are adjusted as necessary based on these competitive wage analyses. We also respect our team members’ rights of association, of joining labor unions and of collective bargaining. In 2020, 57% of our team members working in the U.S. and Puerto Rico, 90% in Canada, 86% in Mexico and 46% in Europe were covered by collective bargaining agreements, and 77% of team members in Australia and New Zealand were covered by collective bargaining agreements or Modern Federal Awards.

Our Code of Conduct and Ethics

JBS USA’s Code of Conduct and Ethics includes behavioral guidelines and standards to ensure appropriate workplace conduct, efficient and safe operations and the well-being of our team members. All JBS USA team members receive annual in-person, online or video-based training on the Code of Conduct and Ethics. All JBS USA team members are responsible for enforcing the Code of Conduct and Ethics in their divisions.

The Code has policies for each of the company’s major risk areas, including team member safety, food safety, environmental compliance, animal welfare, corporate ethics, workplace conduct and taxation and finance.

In addition to Code of Conduct and Ethics training, new team members also receive an ethics handbook during orientation and are expected to abide by our policies regardless of their position in the company. Corrective actions for violating the Code or company policies include coaching, written warnings, final written warnings and, if necessary, termination of employment. Serious violations such as theft can result in immediate termination.

Additionally, JBS USA provides all employees of all levels with harassment training annually. Harassment of employees by supervisors or co-workers is a violation of federal law and company policy. JBS USA has in place a policy concerning all forms of harassment, including but not limited to, sex-based harassment, harassment and retaliation against individuals who report any form of harassment in our workplace.

Our Open Door Policy and Ethics Line

Each JBS USA facility has anonymous and non-anonymous ways to report grievances. Team members can bring their concerns directly to management, without retaliation or fear of retaliation. With our Open Door Policy, full- and part-time team members are encouraged to bring issues that they feel are impacting their performance or environment to supervisors or the Human Resources department. Team members are also encouraged to talk with their supervisor about situations when they feel they have not been treated fairly.

The JBS USA Ethics Line is available to every team member in every country where the company operates, and is provided in 11 languages to accommodate our diverse workforce. Through the Ethics Line, all JBS USA team members have access to a toll-free phone number and an online platform to securely and confidentially report concerns, unethical behavior or policy violations. Reporting can be done anonymously. In 2020, 1,974 Ethics Line reports were filed, investigated and closed, with appropriate personnel or other administrative action taken when warranted.

All team members are introduced to the Open Door Policy and Ethics Line during new-hire orientation, and all new managers discuss the Policy and related procedures with senior management when they assume their roles. Using data from Open Door Policy discussions and Ethics Line reports, we monitor overall team member perceptions.

Town Hall Meetings

To maintain a culture of trust and respect, we offer opportunities for our team members to provide and receive feedback during roundtable or town hall meetings. Team members from every department are invited to meet with management and ask questions, express concerns and present solutions. Team members are reminded of our Open Door Policy at all meetings. Minutes are taken during each meeting and follow-up plans are made for any identified action items. We address all action items within a reasonable time frame and provide feedback to any team members who raised concerns.

Our 2020 Stories

See how we’re building a culture of health, safety, diversity and leadership with team members.

2020 NAMI Worker Safety Awards

JBS USA and Pilgrim's

Each year, the North American Meat Institute (NAMI) Worker Safety Awards recognize production facilities that have achieved a high level of performance in the team member health and safety area. Four award levels may be earned based on an evaluation of the facility’s actual safety performance, as well as its implementation of an effective safety…

2019 Joint Poultry Industry Safety Awards

Pilgrim's USA

Each year, the Joint Poultry Safety & Health Council sponsors the Joint Poultry Industry Safety Recognition Program for National Chicken Council (NCC), National Turkey Federation (NTF) and U.S. Poultry and Egg Association (USPOULTRY) members. The program seeks to motivate employers to continuously improve their safety performance through the establishment of sound safety and health programs…

IMPACT Program

Pilgrim's USA

The IMPACT Program, which stands for Industrial Maintenance Program & Accredited Course Training, is an aggressive in-house and branded Pilgrim’s program that trains maintenance team members on an individual level in a practical setting. With key focuses on safety awareness, mechanical skills, leadership skills and equipment, the program promotes a safety-first-culture, addresses an internal demand…

JBS Australia Hosts Employee Engagement Survey

JBS Australia

In September 2019, the first JBS Australia Employee Engagement Survey opened for completion. All team members across the business, excluding Primo Foods and Premier Beehive, completed the survey. The Engagement Survey is confidential and anonymous, with an external third party appointed to analyse the responses and deliver high-level reports. Managers will be responsible for creating…

Read More of Our Stories

Next Section Team Member Health and Safety