LITTLE ROCK — Tyson Foods has signed an agreement with U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement to ensure the company's 100,000 U.S. employees are all legal workers.
Tyson Foods Senior Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer Ken Kimbro and ICE Director John Morton signed documents Thursday at ICE headquarters in Washington to make the Springdale-based food giant the latest company to voluntarily join the agency's IMAGE program.
As part of the certification process, Tyson underwent an audit and other checks from ICE.
The immigration agency said Tyson already participates in a government employment verification program, conducts regular internal audits of hiring activities and trains all its employment managers on legal hiring practices.
"We take this issue of employment compliance very seriously," Kimbro said. "Tyson has zero tolerance for employing people who are not authorized to work in the United States."
Morton said Tyson's participation sets the standard for Fortune 500 companies.
"The company has now put into place an employment verification plan that is truly a model for the country," he said. "If a company as large as Tyson Foods can get compliance right, any company can."
Morton on Thursday also announced a new center that will employ 15 auditors who can investigate large-scale companies, like Tyson. The company is the largest meat producer in the world and has a total workforce of 115,000 employees.
Tyson has been accused previously of violating immigration employment laws. The company and three managers were acquitted in 2003 of hiring illegal immigrants in a federal trial that followed a four-year investigation by undercover agents.