Jien v Perdue Farms, Inc.
Case Overview
October 18, 2024 Update: Plaintiffs continue to litigate against numerous poultry processing companies (and their subsidiaries and affiliates) alleging a conspiracy to fix and depress the compensation paid to employees at processing plants in the United States in direct violation of Section 1 of the Sherman Act.
Defendants operate over 200 processing plants and produce approximately 80 percent of the poultry sold to consumers in the United States. This alleged conspiracy maximized company profits by reducing the conspirators’ labor costs. The effect of the conspiracy was to reduce wages below what would have been paid in a competitive market. This was achieved by holding “off the books” or in-person meetings between senior executives, the use of wage and compensation surveys that were easily identifiable, and the direct exchanges of detailed compensation information.
Various co-Defendants such as Jennie-O, O.K. Foods, Foster Poultry Farms, and others have agreed to Proposed Settlements with the Class Plaintiffs, while Plaintiffs continue to pressure remaining Defendants via motion Practice relating to Class Certification.
On November 2, 2020, Plaintiffs filed their Second Amended Consolidated Complaint against numerous poultry processing companies (and their subsidiaries and affiliates) alleging a conspiracy to fix and depress the compensation paid to employees at processing plants in the United States in direct violation of Section 1 of the Sherman Act.
Defendants operate over 200 processing plants and produce approximately 80 percent of the poultry sold to consumers in the United States. This alleged conspiracy maximized company profits by reducing the conspirators’ labor costs. The effect of the conspiracy was to reduce wages below what would have been paid in a competitive market. This was achieved by holding “off the books” or in-person meetings between senior executives, the use of wage and compensation surveys that were easily identifiable, and the direct exchanges of detailed compensation information.
You can learn more about the proposed class action litigation and the allegations asserted against the various defendants by reviewing the Second Amended Consolidated Complaint, available in the Case Documents section below. On March 10, 2021, the Court denied the various defendants’ motions to dismiss the Plaintiffs’ legal claims. This positive ruling means that the Plaintiffs and the proposed class will be able to continue to pursue their claims.
We urge you to visit this website periodically as it will be updated as the litigation progresses.
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