March 11, 2024
Meat industry giants Tyson and JBS have agreed to pay a combined $127.2 million to resolve a lawsuit accusing them of suppressing workers’ pay at processing plants, marking the largest deals so far in the wage-fixing case in Colorado federal court.
Lawyers for the workers on Friday asked a judge, opens new tab to preliminarily approve the two deals, which would push total settlements to $138.5 million since the class-action lawsuit was filed in 2022.
A class estimated at tens of thousands of red meat processing workers at 140 plants alleged a years-long conspiracy among JBS, Tyson and other companies to artificially keep wages low. The lawsuit said the companies violated antitrust law by sharing confidential compensation data through surveys and meetings.
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For plaintiffs: George Farah of Handley Farah & Anderson; Shana Scarlett of Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro; and Brent Johnson of Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll.
Read Tyson, JBS to Pay $127 Million to Resolve Workers’ Wage-Fixing Lawsuit.