STORM LAKE, Iowa — Tyson Foods has settled a 10-year-old class-action lawsuit and will disburse nearly $6 million to more than 3,900 current and former employees at a northwest Iowa pork plant.
The Sioux City Journal reported that Storm Lake employees sued the Arkansas-based company in 2007 to collect back pay for the time they spent putting on and taking off protective work clothes and equipment before and after their work shifts.
A Sioux City federal jury ruled in favor of the workers in 2011, a decision the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld in 2014. Tyson appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. The court rejected the company's appeal in March 2016 to limit workers' ability to challenge pay and workplace issues.
Tyson spokesman Gary Mickelson said each worker will receive about $1,700.