An Illinois meatpacking plant discriminated against women seeking entry-level jobs, the U.S. Labor Department charged in an administrative complaint filed Wednesday.
The plant is owned by a subsidiary of Tyson Foods Inc. The Labor Department said Tyson has made biased hiring decisions at the facility since at least January 2003, when the agency first audited the plant. The alleged discrimination has resulted in the rejection of more than 750 female applicants.
The plant is located in Joslin, which is near the Quad Cities.
The Labor Department seeks to force the subsidiary, Tyson Fresh Meats, to offer employment to more than 100 women in the affected class. It also said it believes the class is owed back wages and wants Tyson to provide financial relief.
In response to the complaint, a Tyson official said in a statement that the Labor Department’s charges are solely based on an audit of job application forms at the plant, not complaints by anyone who came to the company seeking a job.
“We’re disappointed the Department of Labor has taken this course of action,” said Ken Kimbro, Tyson’s senior vice president and chief human resources officer. “We believe there were legitimate, non-discriminatory reasons certain applicants were not hired.”
The allegation could affect Tyson Fresh Meats’ federal contracts. The agency requested that all of the subsidiary’s government contracts be canceled.
The complaint was made by department’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs, which enforces affirmative action and other employment regulations on companies with federal contracts.
The case was filed with the Labor Department’s Office of Administrative Law Judges.
The agency said it first discovered the alleged violations during a 2004 review of the plant’s compliance with federal regulations. The complaint also said that Tyson failed to address the agency’s findings. The department began enforcement proceedings after attempts to secure voluntary compliance were unsuccessful, the complaint said.
Kimbro said that since the audit was conducted in 2003 and 2004, Tyson has put procedures in place to ensure it retains documentation to support its hiring decisions.
He also said that during the time period covered by the review, women represented 28 percent of the workforce at the Joslin plant.
“Contrary to the impression left by the government’s allegation, it is our policy to provide a work environment free from unlawful discrimination,” Kimbro said.
