Tyson suspends workers who allegedly bet on COVID cases

Tyson Foods has suspended an undisclosed number of employees who allegedly took bets on how many workers would become ill with COVID-19.

Roy Graber Headshot
(Tyson Foods)
(Tyson Foods)

Tyson Foods has suspended an undisclosed amount of employees who allegedly took bets on how many workers would become ill with COVID-19.

The action stems from allegations included in a wrongful death lawsuit filed against Tyson Foods. The suit alleges that managers at Tyson Fresh Meats pork plant in Waterloo, Iowa, took such bets.

In a statement issued on November 19, Dean Banks, president and CEO of Tyson Foods, said: “We are extremely upset about the accusations involving some of the leadership at our Waterloo plant. Tyson Foods is a family company with 139,000 team members and these allegations do not represent who we are,  or our Core Values and Team Behaviors. We expect every team member at Tyson Foods to operate with the utmost integrity and care in everything we do.”

Those who allegedly made the bets were suspended without pay, Banks added.

Tyson Foods has retained the law firm Covington & Burling LLP to conduct an independent investigation. Former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder is leading the investigation.

“If these claims are confirmed, we’ll take all measures necessary to root out and remove this disturbing behavior from our company,” said Banks. “Our top priority is and remains the health and safety of our team members.”

Operations were suspended at the Waterloo plant, which employs 2,800 people, during the week of April 22 because of health and safety concerns related to the pandemic. All workers received full pay while the plant was idled. While the plant was not operating, the company performed an additional deep clean and sanitization of the entire facility.

The company later announced that the Waterloo plant would reopen on May 7 with a reduced workforce and enhanced safety precautions and protective social distancing measures installed throughout the plant.

At the time, Tyson Foods said that all plant employees would be tested for COVID-19 before they would be allowed to return to work.

View our continuing coverage of the coronavirus/COVID-19 pandemic.

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