Tyson Lied About Its COVID-19 Protocols, Investor Class Action Lawsuit Claims

A Tyson Foods investor claims the meat processing giant was caught misrepresenting how it was implementing COVID-19 protocols leading to substantial drops in its share prices.

Lead plaintiff, Canadian resident Mingxue Guo, alleges that he and other investors, including New York City Retirement Systems, lost money due to the lack of COVID-19 protocols within the Tyson facilities. The lawsuit points out that the company’s share price took a 2.2% dive on Dec. 15, 2020, and then lost another 8.5% over the next five days in response to calls for increased scrutiny of Tyson’s COVID-19 protocols.

On Dec. 15, New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer wrote a letter to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission asking the agency to launch an investigation into Tyson, reports The Chronicle Herald. According to the SEC letter, Tyson workers experienced three times as many COVID-19 cases and two times the deaths, compared to other workers at competing companies.

Indeed, Tyson has faced a flurry of class action lawsuits from workers and their families over claims the company failed to implement sufficient protective measures at their facilities as COVID-19 surged.

Some of the allegations are disturbing, including one class action alleging that Tyson managers made “winner take all” bets on how many workers would contract the disease. Tyson employees also allege that plant managers lied to interpreters who were meant to inform the workers about the coronavirus situation.

According to the class action lawsuit filed by the Tyson investor, over 11,000 Tyson workers have contracted COVID-19 as of Dec. 3, 2020. Guo is seeking unspecified damages suffered by himself and other investors based on the misrepresentation of Tyson COVID-19 protocols, leading to the precipitous drop in the value of the stock in December.

For its part, Tyson has touted its investment in worker safety, reportedly spending more than $500 million on precautions, including coronavirus testing on workers each week.

Do you think Tyson misrepresented its COVID-19 protocols? Do you own Tyson stock? Do you or a loved one work at a Tyson facility? Tell us what you think in the comment section below!

The Tyson COVID-19 Protocols Class Action Lawsuit is Guo v Tyson Foods Inc et al., Case No. 21-00552, in the United States District Court, Eastern District of New York.

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