The Department of Justice (DOJ) was denied its request to participate in a hearing regarding wage-fixing allegations against beef and pork processors.
Although a federal judge in Colorado denied the request, the court will still consider the DOJ’s objections.
Beef and pork processing workers allege that since 2000, meat producers including JBS USA Food, Tyson Foods, Cargill, Hormell Foods, Perdue Farms, Smithfield Foods and National Beef Packing, and their subsidiaries, conspired to fix and depress workers’ compensation. The workers also claim Agri Stats and WMS & Company helped the processors exchange sensitive compensation data.
On Nov. 5, Judge Philip A. Brimmer for the United States District Court of Colorado denied the government’s request to participate in the final approval hearing for $202.8 million in settlements.
