Hazelton, PA: (Aug-06-07) A federal class action lawsuit was brought against Cargill Meat Solutions Corp. by its former and current employees who alleged that they were not paid for all the hours they worked. In March 2006, seven people employed at Cargill's meat processing plants in Wyalusing and Hazleton filed the suit claiming they were not paid for required pre- and post-shift work, including cleaning and sanitizing protective gear and equipment, starting in March 2003. The suit claimed that the employees were not being paid for their time spent sharpening knives and waiting to receive equipment they needed to perform their work on the production line, which was a violation of the state's Wage Payment and Collection Law.
The suit was granted class action status in August 2006, following which, more than 4,100 former and current employees from the Hazleton plant and 2,300 from the Wyalusing plant joined the suit. In a settlement reached, though the company denied the allegations, it agreed to a $1.1 million payout. Current and former employees who opt in to the settlement will receive between $300 and $900, depending on the type of job they held and how long they have worked at Cargill. [STANDARD SPEAKER: EMPLOYEE PREP]
