Wednesday
Mar072007
Federal Suit Against Tyson Goes for Class-Action Status
Wednesday, March 7, 2007 at 4:26AM A major local employer could face millions of dollars in back-pay compensation if a federal judge in Kansas rules against it. Tyson workers in western Kansas are filing for class-action status in the case, which has to do with how much time the workers are paid for to put on and take off protective clothing. Springdale, Ark.-based Tyson, the world's largest meat packer, had sought summary judgments blocking the compensation claims, first brought by employees at the Holcomb, Kan., facility last May. A similar case was filed against the company in Sioux City, Iowa, earlier this month.
The key to the case is what is defined as work. Employers have to pay employees for all hours worked, but Tyson has contended that the time it takes to put on the required protective clothing at the beginning of the shift and take it off again at the end of the shift is not time worked. A 1994 case against beef packing giant IBP forced the company to revisit the issue, and it has since paid for four minutes at the start and end of the shift, if the employee works in a job requiring knife or cleaver use.
This lawsuit aims to extend the pay to time other workers use donning and doffing hair nets, and for the time it takes to walk to and from their work station. The judge last Friday left open the issue of whether four minutes was adequate time to put on and remove special protective clothing and gear worn by those who use cleavers and knives on the assembly line. Plaintiffs contended that it often takes much longer than four minutes to dress for the job.
Nearly 300 workers at the Holcomb plant have joined in the lawsuit so far, and nearly 800 more say they want to be part of it.
The key to the case is what is defined as work. Employers have to pay employees for all hours worked, but Tyson has contended that the time it takes to put on the required protective clothing at the beginning of the shift and take it off again at the end of the shift is not time worked. A 1994 case against beef packing giant IBP forced the company to revisit the issue, and it has since paid for four minutes at the start and end of the shift, if the employee works in a job requiring knife or cleaver use.
This lawsuit aims to extend the pay to time other workers use donning and doffing hair nets, and for the time it takes to walk to and from their work station. The judge last Friday left open the issue of whether four minutes was adequate time to put on and remove special protective clothing and gear worn by those who use cleavers and knives on the assembly line. Plaintiffs contended that it often takes much longer than four minutes to dress for the job.
Nearly 300 workers at the Holcomb plant have joined in the lawsuit so far, and nearly 800 more say they want to be part of it.
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