Press Release

Washington, DC — The following is a statement from American Association for Justice President Larry Tawwater on today’s decision by the Supreme Court of the United States in Tyson Foods Inc. v. Bouaphekeo et. al, which overwhelmingly upheld an Iowa jury verdict against Tyson Foods for cheating its workers out of overtime wages they were due. Tyson Foods attempted to evade the $5.8 million verdict by arguing that workers should not have been allowed to use statistical evidence to demonstrate average time workers spent donning and removing protective gear, even though it failed to keep such records for individual employees.

“We applaud the Supreme Court for affirming the jury’s decision to hold Tyson Foods accountable for short-changing more than 3,000 of its workers by refusing to give them the full amount of their hard-earned money. When powerful corporations like Tyson Foods nickel-and-dime their employees, class actions are often the only way Americans can recover the wages they are owed. The Court rightfully rejected Tyson’s attempt to retroactively prevent its cheated workers from joining together, and preserved this essential legal mechanism for future groups of consumers and employees harmed by corporate wrongdoing.”

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The American Association for Justice works to preserve the constitutional right to trial by jury and to make sure people have a fair chance to receive justice through the legal system when they are injured by the negligence or misconduct of others—even when it means taking on the most powerful corporations. Visit http://www.justice.org.