BALTIMORE – Attorneys at Hagens Berman representing low-income workers employed by the nation’s largest poultry processing companies announced settlements totaling $398.05 million reached in a sprawling antitrust lawsuit that is according to the firm the second largest recovery ever obtained in a labor antitrust class action.

The lawsuit accuses Tyson Foods Inc., Perdue Farms Inc. and many other food conglomerates of more than a decade of illegal wage-fixing, hampering the pay of millions of individuals whose average hourly earnings were $11-$13.

“We humbly believe the culmination of this case represents the best of antitrust litigation: the ability to uncover concealed wrongdoing, investigate and recover losses to those most in need,” said Shana Scarlett, Hagens Berman partner representing the class. “Our legal team is incredibly proud of our yearslong efforts in this case, including the investigation by the Department of Justice that was spurred from our findings.”

Hagens Berman first filed the class action in 2019 and fought against 26 named defendants who collectively process approximately 90% of the poultry sold to consumers in the United States and operate around 200 chicken processing plants in the continental U.S. Workers who were victims of wage-fixing include those in processing plants and at hatcheries and feed mills in non-supervisory roles.

In a 2016 report titled “No Relief,” Oxfam America wrote, “…the processing plant remains grim and dangerous. Workers earn low wages, suffer elevated rates of injury and illness, toil in difficult conditions, and have little voice in the workplace.” Meanwhile, defendants earn more than $50 billion in annual revenue, according to the lawsuit. Oxfam America reports that of the roughly 250,000 poultry workers in the U.S., most are minorities, immigrants, or refugees, and a significant percentage is female.

“In many instances, the jobs workers are able to find at processing plants may be their only options,” Scarlett said. “That these major food conglomerates would steal wages from families who hang on every dollar is shameful. We are hopeful for a swift approval so that $400 million can go into the pockets of those who deserve it.”

Affected employees include those who worked at a defendant company between Jan. 1, 2000, and July 20, 2021. More information can be found at the settlement website, poultrywages.com.

About the Wage-Fixing Scheme

"Defendants have engaged in this unlawful conspiracy to maximize their profits by reducing labor costs, which have comprised a substantial share of each Defendant Processor’s total operating costs," according to the complaint.

The lawsuit’s list of defendants includes two consulting companies — Agri Stats Inc. and Webber, Meng, Sahl & Co. Inc. (WMS) — which attorneys say served to pool the defendant companies’ data and allow for collusion while concealing their activities. According to attorneys, these middlemen organizations colluded with the processing companies in three key manners:

First, senior executives allegedly held recurring off-the-books meetings where they exchanged information about, discussed, agreed upon and ultimately fixed the wages and benefits of affected employees at artificially depressed levels.

Second, according to the lawsuit, processors frequently exchanged detailed, current and non-public wage and benefits information through surveys conducted by Agri Stats and WMS. This reporting was used to ensure participation among companies that would otherwise compete.

Third, the complaint states managers at affected chicken processing plants engaged in bilateral and regional exchanges of wage and benefits information, conducted through various mediums, including telephone calls and surveys disseminated through electronic listservs.

The Numbers

The settlements include:

• $115.5 million with Tyson and Keystone Foods LLC
• $60.65 million with Perdue Farms Inc. and Perdue Foods LLC
• $38.3 million with Sanderson Farms Inc.
• $31.5 million with Wayne Farms LLC
• $29 million with Pilgrim's Pride Corporation
• $18.5 million agreement with Koch Foods Inc.
• $15 million with Cargill Meat Solutions Corp. and Cargill Inc.
• $13.5 million with Mountaire Farms Inc.
• $13.3 million with Foster Poultry Farms
• $12 million with Simmons Foods, Inc. and Simmons Prepared Foods Inc.
• $8.5 million with Butterball LLC
• $8.5 million with Case Foods Inc. and Case Farms LLC
• $6.25 million with Amick Farms LLC.
• $5.8 million with George’s Inc. and George's Foods LLC
• $5.5 million with Fieldale Farms Corporation
• $5 million with Allen Harim Foods LLC
• $4.75 million with O.K. Foods Inc.
• $3.5 million with Jennie-O Turkey Store Inc.
• $3 million with Peco Foods Inc.

Attorneys representing the class have requested the court to certify the classes of plaintiffs eligible to receive settlement benefits and grant approval to remaining negotiated recoveries.

Settlements reached in the litigation are non-reversionary, meaning that once approved by the court, there is no chance of any amount reverting back to defendants.

Defendants produced 6.7 million documents in discovery and 178 gigabytes of structured data. Attorneys representing the class of workers took 59 depositions and extensively consulted with expert economists, according to the filing.

In a bolstering of Hagens Berman’s preexisting poultry wage-fixing class action, the U.S. Department of Justice announced a consent decree and proposed conditional civil settlement for the same behavior with Cargill, Sanderson Farms Inc. and Wayne Farms LLC, among other individuals in 2022. In a rare instance, the DOJ’s action included a restitution clause that ordered the companies to provide payment — either through an approved settlement in the class-action litigation brought by Hagens Berman or, only in the alternative, directly to the DOJ. This ensured these companies were held to account for the damages caused by the anticompetitive conduct that harmed workers.

Learn more about the firm’s antitrust case against the nation’s largest poultry processing companies.

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About Hagens Berman
Hagens Berman is a global plaintiffs’ rights complex litigation law firm with a tenacious drive for achieving real results for those harmed by corporate negligence and fraud. Since its founding in 1993, the firm’s determination has earned it numerous national accolades, awards and titles of “Most Feared Plaintiff’s Firm,” MVPs and Trailblazers of class-action law. More about the law firm and its successes can be found at www.hbsslaw.com. Follow the firm for updates and news at @ClassActionLaw.

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