A class action lawsuit has been filed against the company alleging unpaid overtime for employees. The lawsuit was filed in Federal Court in Minnesota on behalf of more than 800 current and former employees who have worked at Kerry Specialty Ingredients plants in Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, and Ohio. The suit claims Kerry did not pay its workers for time spent putting on and taking off protective gear before and after shifts.
The certified class action suit will represent Kerry employees who worked in production, maintenance, and sanitation jobs any time on or after February 1, 2003, in Albert Lea, MN, Covington, OH, Fredericksburg, IA, and Beloit, Jackson, Owen and Vesper, WI. The class action claims Kerry's practices violate the Fair Labor Standards Act.
In August, 2007 class notices were sent to 830 current and former employees of Kerryingredients who worked anytime between Feb 2003 and today. Seven of its plants, located in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa and Ohio, are involved in the class action lawsuit.
The notice has a 60-day opt-in period and the deadline for returning consent is October 29, 2007. Following the close of the opt-in and the period of discovery, lawyer Bill Gengler expects the defendant will move to decertify the class. "We are confident that we will successfully oppose that motion and go to trial in St. Paul, MN. in September, 2008," he says.
"As of this morning (Oct-18-07), 139 current and former Kerry employees opted in, but historically, the bulk comes in at the very last moment," Gengler says.. "Right now, we mainly have former employees, in part because Kerry had several lay-offs and closed some branches."
Although repercussions are always a threat, Gengler believes that more current employees will join the class. Retaliation or threats of retaliation by an employer are strictly forbidden by the law and should be reported to the employees' attorneys.
