Workers awarded largest verdict in EEOC history
On May 1, an Iowa jury made history when they announced their verdict on a disability discrimination case. As reported by Fox News, 32 mentally disabled workers at a turkey processing plant were awarded $240 million after the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission sued the company on their behalf. This is the largest amount to ever be awarded in the EEOC's history. Along with an appalling payroll process, in which the men received 41 cents an hour, the employer also abused its workers both physically and verbally. According to the source, federal officials deemed the men "virtually enslaved" at their job.
This is not the first verdict the 32 employees have won against their former employer. In September, a district court judge ordered the turkey company to pay $1.3 million for illegal disability-based wage discrimination, as reported by BLR.com. The employer, Henry's Turkey Company, is now shut down and will undoubtedly have a tough time coming up with the funds to comply with both rulings. "Do you think I can write a check for that?" company president Kenneth Henry asked a local newspaper.
The EEOC protects workers with many types of disabilities, including intellectual. In this case, the employees were vulnerable because of their disability, and Henry's clearly violated the ADA by treating them with such malice and discrimination.
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