November 23, 2020

Tyson Foods' employees suspended following lawsuit that alleges managers bet on workers getting COVID-19

Major United States meatpacker Tyson Foods said it has suspended employees without pay and appointed Eric Holder, former US Attorney General to investigate a wrongful death lawsuit that alleges its Iowa pork plant managers bet on number of workers infected by COVID-19, Reuters reported.

The lawsuit, amended November 11, was filed by a son of worker Isidro Fernandez at Iowa's Waterloo, Iowa facility, who died from COVID-19 complications in April. The lawsuit alleges managers misinformed plant workers about COVID-19 and permitted ill workers to keep working.

According to the lawsuit, plant manager Tom Hart organized a betting pool for other supervisors and managers to wager how many workers would be infected by COVID-19. Hart could not be reached for comment.

Tyson Foods said all workers involved in the accusation have been suspended without pay, and the Covington & Burling law firm will carry out an independent investigation led by Holder.

The company said it will take all necessary measures to stamp out this disturbing behavior if the claims are confirmed.

Tyson Foods' Waterloo facility is its biggest pork plant in the US, with 19,500 swine processed daily accounting for 5% of the country's total pork production.

The lawsuit said 1,000 workers out of 2,800 total were infected by COVID-19, with five deaths. The plant was temporarily shut down in April due to an outbreak.

-      Reuters