Oscar Mayer Involved in Iowa Class Action Lawsuit

A class action lawsuit was filed in federal court in Davenport, Iowa during the week of November 8, 2010. This Iowa class action suit claims that employees at the Oscar Mayer meat processing plant in Davenport are not paid for the time they spend getting dressed in their safety equipment.

The employees claim that before and after their work shifts they have to put on and take off safety equipment such as uniforms, safety glasses, footwear, hairnets, earplugs, gloves, hardhats, and more. The lawsuit indicates that when the employees arrive at work, they get changed in the locker room, and are not allowed to clock in until after they arrive to their workstations. They also are required to clock out before they walk back to the locker room to change.

The employees of Oscar Mayer believe the company is violating the Fair Labor Standards Act and are seeking to be paid for the time it takes them to put on and take off their safety uniforms and equipment. They are seeking back wages, additional damages, and attorney fees. There are four plaintiffs in the case and a class of 1,750 Iowa-based Oscar Mayer employees.

Kraft Foods Inc., the parent company of Oscar Mayer, has said they have not kept time records showing the time employees spent putting on and taking off their equipment. Rachel Larsen, Kraft spokeswoman, said "we believe we are in full compliance with federal and Iowa law and plan to vigorously defend the suit."

The filing of this class action lawsuit is similar to a case in which approximately 780 Oscar Mayer employees based in Madison, Wisconsin filed last year.

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