Henry’s Turkey workers abused, denied pay, new federal suit claims

Developmentally disabled men working at a West Liberty turkey-processing plant were hit, kicked, called names, and their injuries were disregarded by their supervisors, according to a federal lawsuit filed today. Their employer already faces more than $1 million in state fines.

The suit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) against the men's former employer, Henry's Turkey Service, also alleges they were denied lawful wages. The men worked at West Liberty Foods under contract to Henry's Turkey.

EEOC Chair Jacqueline Berrien said the men's experience “is a stark reminder of how important it is for the EEOC to ensure that the Americans with Disabilities Act is fully enforced. Workers with intellectual disabilities should never be subjected to the demeaning and discriminatory treatment alleged in this case.”

The men, malnourished and suffering dental problems, were found living in substandard conditions in a 106-year-old former schoolhouse owned by the city of Atalissa in February 2009. Henry's Turkey brought the men to Iowa to work at West Liberty Foods, an arrangement dating to at least 1974.

The EEOC suit alleges Henry's Turkey exploited the men “because their intellectual disabilities made them particularly vulnerable and unaware of the extent to which their legal rights were being denied.”

Specifically, the complaint claims Henry's Turkey “denied the workers lawful wages, paying them only $65 a month for full-time work; subjected them to abusive verbal and physical harassment; restricted their freedom of movement; and imposed other harsh terms and conditions of employment such as requiring them to live in deplorable and sub-standard living conditions, and failing to provide adequate medical care when needed.”

Supervisors frequently called the men “retarded”, “dumb ass” and “stupid,” hit and kicked them, and on at least one occasion handcuffed a worker. Disabled workers were also forced to carry heavy weights as punishment, and Henry's Turkey supervisors, “also the workers' purported caretakers, were often dismissive of complaints of injuries or pain,” according to the EEOC.

Eight of the men returned to family members in Texas. Thirteen now live in group homes in Waterloo and  are “doing well,” according to the state Department of Human Services.

“Overall the men have adjusted to life in Iowa. Their lives have become more stable and changes are becoming more infrequent as they continue to succeed in adjusting to life in their new homes,” according to a report by the DHS Targeted Case Management division.

DHS spokesman Roger Munns said the men receive Medicaid-funded services and have individual care plans to help them with daily living skills. Most live in apartments with an average of four roommates, all peers from Atalissa, plus staff. The men are in generally good health.

Nine of the men have part-time jobs, three consider themselves retired, and one is receiving job skills training, according to Munns.

The U.S. Department of Labor is pursuing a separate wage and overtime suit against Henry's Turkey under the Fair Labor Standards Act,  set for trial later this year. The department has filed a proposal for Henry's Turkey to pay the men $1.7 million in back wages.

On March 8 the Iowa Department of Workforce Development fined  Henry's Turkey and its owners $1,164,400 for  violations of state wage and hour laws, including failure to pay minimum wage and making illegal deductions from the workers' paychecks.

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