Source: Lisa M. Keefe, MEATINGPLACE, 6/30/16


Rather than hammer out an agreement with plaintiffs on which individuals are included in the class to be paid for time spent donning and doffing required gear, Tyson Foods Inc. has simply asked for a new trial, court documents show.

The nine-year-long legal wrangle reached the U.S. Supreme Court, which earlier this year upheld a $5.8-million lower court judgment against the company regarding pay for 3,000 pork plant workers for time spent putting on and taking off protective clothes and equipment. The case was remanded to the U.S. District Court for Northern Iowa to determine how the funds are to be distributed.

In the process of filing arguments regarding who, exactly, is eligible for the payout, however, Tyson asked the court for a new trial, contending that it’s impossible to determine whether “uninjured class members” — who did not work more than 40 hours a week — were included in the initial verdict. The issue of class membership is one that the Supreme Court charged the lower court with sorting out.

In their briefs on the issue, both plaintiffs and Tyson blame the other party for arguments made earlier in the long legal process that kept the issue of eligibility unclear down to the present day.

The lawsuit dates back to 2007, when workers at Tyson’s pork processing facility in Storm Lake, Iowa sued over uncompensated time spent donning and doffing required gear.

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