Cargill, other poultry producers settle wage-fixing claims for $85M

Cargill wage-fixing DOJ compensation overview:

• Who: Poultry processors Cargill, Sanderson Farms and Wayne Farms have agreed to pay $84.8 million as part of a settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice. 
• Why: The settlement would resolve allegations the chicken processors violated antitrust law by improperly communicating about worker wages and benefits.
• Where: Maryland federal court

Poultry processors Cargill Inc., Sanderson Farms and Wayne Farms have agreed to pay nearly $85 million collectively to settle claims they conspired to share employee wage and benefit information with one another, in violation of federal antitrust laws. 

The terms of the settlements were listed in proposed consent decrees filed in a Maryland federal court July 25 as part of a lawsuit brought by the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Antitrust Division.

“Through a brazen scheme to exchange wage and benefit information, these poultry processors stifled competition and harmed a generation of plant workers who face demanding and sometimes dangerous conditions to earn a living,” DOJ Antitrust Division Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Doha Mekki said in a statement.    

The deals also name data consulting firm Webber, Meng, Sahl and Company as the companies’ information broker, as well as the firm’s president, G. Jonathan Meng. 

The data consulting firm is accused of facilitating the alleged scheme to share details about processing plant workers’ wages and benefits.

Poultry companies barred from sharing sensitive info in future

The companies do not admit any wrongdoing as part of the deals, which still require court approval.                        

However, if approved, the DOJ said the poultry processors will be barred from “sharing competitively sensitive information about poultry processing plant workers’ compensation,”

They will also be required to implement a 10-year compliance plan overseen by a monitor, inspections and interviews by the department, as well as the payment of $84.8 million collectively.

The payments will go toward restitution to the workers whose wages were allegedly suppressed by the companies’ conduct.

The proposed consent decree with Sanderson Farms and Wayne Farms would also resolve alleged violations of the Packers and Stockyards Act, which prohibits deceptive practices in poultry markets, the DOJ said. 

The news comes as four major US meat packers, including Cargill, are facing claims they conspired together to force the price of cattle down and beef prices up in order to line their own pockets.

What do you think of these settlements for workers? Let us know in the comments! 

The DOJ is represented by Ariana Wright Arnold, Kathleen Simpson Kiernan, Jessica Taticchi, William Friedman, Eun Ha Kim and Jack G. Lerner.

The Cargill poultry antitrust settlement is United States v Cargill Meat Solutions Corp. et al., Case No. 1:22-cv-01821 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland. 

Read About More Class Action Lawsuits & Class Action Settlements:

• Coca-Cola, Fairlife milk settlement update: Attorneys’ ask for $7 million in fees
• Skittles class action highlights other foods that also contain titanium dioxide 
• StarKist tuna lawsuit over price-fixing to move forward
• J.M. Smucker Recalls Jif Peanut Butter Due to Potential Salmonella Contamination