Source: Chris Scott, MEATINGPLACE, 10/10/16

A federal court in Iowa has rejected a request from Tyson Foods for a new trial following the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in March upholding a $5.8-million judgment awarded to workers seeking compensation for time it took to put on and take off clothing before and after doing their plant jobs.

The Supreme Court had ordered a lower court to determine the best method for distributing the damages while Tyson asked the court for a new trial because the original case did not include certain workers the company said were not affected. Tyson argued that because of the “uninjured class members,” the original verdict could not stand and a new trial was warranted.

U.S. District Court Judge John Javey, however, allowed that some of the plaintiffs will not share in the aggregate award, adding that Tyson “invited uncertainty” because of the lack of records on donning and doffing times. He ordered that the award be distributed under an approved proposed method that meets the standards set by the Supreme Court.

A Tyson spokesperson declined to comment on the federal court ruling when contacted by Meatingplace.

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