$3 Million

$3M Poultry Processing Worker Settlement

PARRIS lawyers obtained a $3 million class action settlement on behalf of hourly-paid poultry processing workers in California. 

The workers were required to wear personal protective gear and sanitize it themselves before any direct contact with food. They had to collect and don multiple protective gear items, sanitize them, walk to the time clocks, wait in line, and clock in before heading to the production floor. 

They clocked out at the end of their shifts, sanitized and removed their gear, and sometimes took the gear home to wash it.

The workers were paid from a master time card based on when the production line began and ended for each work period, not for the time they were actually working. 

The workers were given 30 minutes for meals which was not enough time to leave the production line, remove the gear, sanitize it, and eat their lunches. They were deducted 30 minutes of pay for their meal breaks regardless of whether or not they were actually able to take a 30-minute meal period. They were not paid any premium pay for missed or shortened meal periods. 

The employer also charged the poultry processing workers for replacing their protective gear, deducting these costs from the employee’s paychecks without telling them beforehand when and how these deductions would occur.