Tyson Pleads Not Guilty to all Conspiracy Charges

Tyson Foods Inc. on Jan. 24 released two letters from the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division that the Springdale company said proves there was no corporate conspiracy to violate United States immigration laws.

In fact, Ken Kimbro, Tyson senior vice president of human resources, said the letters actually prove that Tyson was accused of too closely scrutinizing certain employment verification documents.

One of the letters was dated May 25, 2000, and the other Jan. 11, 2002. Ironically, the latest letter alleged that Tyson had rejected a female employee’s valid documents for employment eligibility and fired her from Tyson’s Noel, Mo., complex. That is the same complex where undercover agents claimed Tyson was allowing illegal immigrants to work.

“This is the ultimate Catch-22,” Kimbro said. “The government is trying to have it both ways — they are alleging that Tyson conspired to hire undocumented workers, but at the same time they are accusing the company of scrutinizing workers’ documents too closely.”

In Federal Court on Jan. 28 in Chattanooga, Tenn., Tyson pled not guilty to all charges stemming from a three-year sting operation by undercover agents.