Tyson, plant workers settle suit for $5.8M

Tyson Foods Inc. has settled a 10-year-old classaction lawsuit for $5.8 million in a case that reached the U.S. Supreme Court last year. According to a Sioux City Journal article, Tyson and the workers at the Storm Lake pork plant agreed that a third-party administrator would disburse payments to more than 3,900 current and former workers included in the suit.

The case began in 2007, when Storm Lake plant employees sued to collect back pay for time spent putting on and taking off protective work clothes.

In March 2016, the Supreme Court rejected Tyson’s arguments about limits on what workers could or could not challenge regarding workplace issues. Company lawyers sought a new trial, but U.S. District Judge John Jarvey denied Tyson’s request in October.

A timeline for distribution of the settlement hasn’t been announced.