Appellate court upholds ruling for Tyson Foods

The federal courts again ruled in favor of Tyson Foods Inc. who was being sued by its employees in Lexington, Neb., for the time they spend putting on and taking off protective gear required for their beef processing jobs.

The Eighth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals this week upheld a lower court decision handed down in May 2011.

The workers argued they should be paid for the time it takes to prepare for work on the production line and to perform post-production tasks, but the lower court jury disagreed and the higher appeals court concurred.

According to this latest ruling, the plaintiffs failed to show any error in the May 2011 ruling.

“We’re pleased the Court of Appeals upheld the jury’s verdict in our favor. Due to other pending wage and hour litigation, we’ll decline to comment on the effects of this trial, “ said Tyson spokesman Worth Sparkman.

He did confirm Tyson has cases still pending that involve plants in Dakota City and Madison, Neb.