Supreme Court (Finally) Intervenes For American Workers


For the American worker, three times might actually be the charm. In the third class action lawsuit to reach the US Supreme Court involving workers compensation in the past five years, the Court finally sided with the workers.

In a potentially significant blow to corporations everywhere, by 6-2 decision the Court upheld a nearly $6-million class action verdict in favor of a Tyson meat packers in Iowa. The group brought the class action suit after Tyson refused to pay them for time spent putting on and taking off their safety gear. Such gear is required to perform the duties of their jobs and isn’t exactly the kind of stuff the workers can wear into work. Under company rules, workers were not allowed to clock in until their safety gear was on and then clock out before it was removed. Tyson management was able to squeeze more labor hours out of the workforce by strictly compensating their time on the assembly floor. The workers contended the company was getting out of paying not only standard wages but overtime that was created.

However, lawyers for the poultry giant argued that since workers had not kept specific records of their claims, they could not be substantiated. The workers’ attorneys called on an expert witness who studied a sample and came to the conclusion that workers spent an average of 18 minutes putting on the required gear.

The Justices were convinced this statistical sample was enough and ruled in favor of the workers. Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor, and Elena Kagen made up the majority. Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito made up the dissent.

The verdict was the first time in five years the Court has ruled in favor of labor. In two previous cases, involving Wal-Mart and Amazon, the Justices ruled in favor of the corporate defendants. In each case, fair compensation was in question involving unpaid time spent on the job. In each case the claims were thrown out, albeit for differing reasons. Now with this decision, corporations across the US will be wise to evaluate any unpaid work time their employees are spending on the job.

Read the full decision of Tyson Foods, Inc. v. Bouaphakeo

 

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Jeff is reformed conservative who is happy to be thinking for himself again. He's an aspiring author working on his first book. Follow #Brick_Says