A federal judge in Nebraska has certified as a class action two employees' compensation lawsuit against Farmland Foods Inc., according to court papers.

The employees, Mauricio Guarjardo of Colombus, Neb., and Maria Guzman Morales of Dorchester, Neb., filed the suit in November 2008, saying they and other workers should be compensated for time spent putting on and taking off their gear.
The suit now covers most current and former non-exempt production employees, and some exempt employees, working at the company's Crete, Neb. hog processing plant since Aug, 21, 2006, if they used personal protective equipment and were paid on a gang-time compensation system.

The class action does not include most support workers, including janitors, washers, labelers, forklift operators and others.

The next step in the suit is for the plaintiffs to contact everyone who has been included in the class, inform them of the decision and try to gain their approval to be included in the class.

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