According to a lawsuit filed by a deceased worker’s son, a Tysons Food plant in Iowa had no regard for coronavirus safety. The managers even wagered on how many employees would get the virus.
Oscar Fernandez is suing the food giant and several high-ranking officials. He claims that his dad, Isidro, who died in April, was infected with COVID-19 and 1,000 other employees because the Waterloo facility did not take proper precautions.
Fernandez claims Tyson required employees to work long hours in cramped conditions despite the coronavirus outbreak. He says that they failed to provide sufficient PPE and did not implement proper social distancing measures.
The most shocking thing about all of this is the Waterloo plant manager organized a cash buy-in, winner-take-all betting pool for supervisors and managers to bet on how many employees would test positive for the virus.
He claims that the high-ranking Tyson officials pressured workers to keep working no matter what and even lobbied government officials to help keep the plant open. In April, 2 dozen employees were admitted to the emergency room, and the plant had to shut down temporarily.
Tyson is being sued for fraudulent misrepresentations, gross negligence, and wanton disregard for worker safety.
Although their comments have not specifically addressed the alleged betting pool, the company has denied many of the allegations.
Tyson says … “We’re saddened by the loss of any Tyson team member and sympathize with their families. Our top priority is the health and safety of our workers, and we’ve implemented a host of protective measures at Waterloo and our other facilities that meet or exceed CDC and OSHA guidances for preventing Covid-19.”
