WINCHESTER, Tenn. — Tyson Foods Inc. received preliminary federal court approval of its $7.75 million settlement offer to its current and former employees in their class action overtime lawsuit. The employees claimed they were denied wages for time spent working during meal breaks and when putting on and taking off necessary protective gear. The settlement comes nearly 10 months after the court ruled that Tyson willfully violated the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) regarding the “donning and doffing” of sanitary gear.
The Claim
The Tyson employees in this case are hourly workers at the company’s Tennessee beef and pork processing plant. The claim is a hybrid collective and class action brought under state wage laws and the FLSA with about 6,800 class members and about 1,500 class members who opted into the collective action. The employees claim they were required to don and doff, or put on and take off, sanitary frocks off-the-clock. They not only claim this was a FLSA violation, they also claim it was a breach of their employment contract, which stated they were to be paid from “frock to frock” as hourly workers.
Under the FLSA, donning and doffing of gear necessary and integral for a job, particularly if the gear cannot be put on prior to arriving at work, should be considered work time. The employees claim the sanitary frocks were not only necessary, they were required. And as such, they should have been allowed to clock in prior to putting on their gear and to clock out after they had taken off their gear. Because Tyson’s policies required the employees to don and doff off-the-clock, the employees were denied compensation and potential overtime for all of the time they worked each week.
Settlement Considerations
There are many factors to consider when deciding whether or not to seek or accept a settlement offer. In some cases going to trial will have better results than any settlement offer. But trials can be drawn out, expensive, and the outcome is never certain. In this case, the court has already ruled Tyson violated the FLSA so the initial outcome was likely to go in the employees’ favor, but there are no guarantees on the end result if Tyson appealed. If Tyson appealed the ruling, the case could take significantly longer and cost significantly more, particularly if it was appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Because the parties decided to settle, they avoided going to trial this month. Instead, the parties will finalize the settlement at a hearing in mid-October. And, in addition to the settlement, Tyson altered its pay practices and installed new time clocks in May to allow employees to clock in before putting on their sanitary frocks.
If you or someone you know must don and doff protective gear off-the-clock, contact our top-rated team of overtime pay lawyers today at (855) 754-2795 or complete the Free Unpaid Overtime Case Review form and our experienced legal team will evaluate your case. If we accept your case, we will represent you under our No Fee Promise. This means there are no legal fees or costs unless you receive a settlement.