Source: Lisa M. Keefe, MEATINGPLACE, 8/26/15


An Appellate Court in Nebraska has ruled in favor of Tyson Foods Inc. in a class-action donning and doffing lawsuit filed on behalf of employees of two the company’s facilities in that state.

According to the opinion filed in the case, “Tyson appeals the class certification, the summary judgment rulings, and several issues related to the trial and damages award. We conclude that Tyson is entitled to judgment as a matter of law on both the federal and state claims, and we therefore reverse the judgment.”

The judges ruled against the plaintiffs as a matter of law: Basically, the appeals court decided that their claim that “they were entitled to additional compensation [beyond that specified in the collective bargaining contract in place] under the [Fair Labor Standards Act] cannot be raised through an action under the [Nebraska Wage Payment and Collection Act].”

Tyson had argued that making a case under the Nebraska Collection Act was in error because the act “creates a cause of action to recover only those wages that an employer previously agreed to pay, when all conditions stipulated have been met. … Tyson argues that it never agreed to pay the disputed wages in this case.”

In a statement sent to Meatingplace by Tyson spokesman Gary Mickelson, the company said, “We’re pleased with the rulings. We continue to believe we’re paying our people appropriately and, like other businesses, have strived to comply with federal wage and hour laws that are not precise in describing what activities should be compensated. 

These cases are part of a continuing nationwide legal debate over what types of activities are compensable under the Fair Labor Standards Act and under certain state laws. In fact, there have been numerous, similar 'donning and doffing’ cases filed over the years involving the food industry and many other kinds of jobs, including steel and auto workers and even police officers,” Mickelson wrote.

Tyson this week filed its opening brief arguing a challenge in a similar case before the U.S. Supreme Court involving workers at its Storm Lake, Iowa, plant. Tyson hopes to convince the nation’s highest judicial body to vacate lower court rulings ordering the processor to pay $5.8 million in a class-action filing seeking overtime pay.

For more stories, go to www.meatingplace.com.