Meat + Poultry - June 2010 - 10

Business Notes
Tyson agrees to donning-doffing plan
On June 3, Tyson Foods Inc. and the
U.S. Department of Labor (DOL)
reached an agreement that could serve
as a precedent for how workers are
paid for time spent donning and doffing clothing and protective gear before
and after their shifts.
Tyson will gradually modify timekeeping practices at its poultry plants
and certain prepared foods plants over
the next two-andhalf years. It will
provide eight or
12 minutes of extra pay per shift on
an interim basis to
certain hourly processing line workers.
By December 2012, the company will
implement a more permanent modification, making arrangements for workers to "clock in" before they put on
certain clothing items and "clock out"

after the clothing items are taken off.
Tyson and the government fi led
a joint motion in federal court to resolve a May 2002 DOL lawsuit, which
sought back wages at the company's
Blountsville, Ala., poultry plant and
prospective injunctive relief at the
company's other poultry processing
facilities. The DOL alleged the company violated federal law by not paying overtime compensation to workers
for putting on and taking off certain
sanitary and protective clothing before and after their production shifts.
Tyson officials denied any wrongdoing and said the case is an example of an
ongoing, nationwide legal debate over
what types of activities are compensable
under the Fair Labor Standards Act.
The company said its position was
practically vindicated in November
2009 when a federal jury in Birming-

ham, Ala., found no evidence of a recordkeeping violation by the company
and awarded only $250,000 of the $8
million the DOL requested for workers
at the Blountsville plant. The money
was intended to compensate 3,000
workers for overtime wages over a 10year period. The company and DOL
negotiated the resolution.
The changes in pay practices are
expected to affect between 33 and 47
Tyson plant locations across the country and as many as 38,000 employees. .
Tyson will pay $500,000 to resolve
all monetary and injunctive relief issues in the case, including all claims
for back pay. The DOL will distribute
the payments to an estimated 3,000
current and former Blountsville workers. The payments will range in value
from $1 up to about $2,500, before
legally-required withholdings. ■

T�

BUY AMERICAN!

Il f

Made in America by Americans!
M
Proudly Serving the Meat and Poultry
Industry for over 18 Years
ds
Aroun
Wrap

Butch
er F
& Lab rocks
coats

HIGHEST QUALITY-LOW PRICESFAST & PERSONAL SERVICE
Free
Sample
Available

Buy
DIRECT from the
B
MANUFACTURER!
Call Brenda Today

Free
Sample
Available

Omni Apparel, Inc.
American
Quality in
Every Stitch

Om Nl

113 Kingsbridge Drive, Carrollton, GA 30117

Toll-free 1-800-951-COAT (2628)
Local 770-838-1008 * www.omniapparel.com
10 * Meat&Poultry * June 2010 * www.MeatPoultry.com

Fax 770-838-1038 * e-mail: oapparel@bellsouth.net

http://www.omniapparel.com http://www.MeatPoultry.com

Meat + Poultry - June 2010

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Meat + Poultry - June 2010