
Tyson workers separated by plastic dividers on the production line. (Photo provided by Tyson Fresh Meats)
Faced with court rulings that say a Trump administration directive doesn’t protect Tyson Foods from liability caused by workers’ deaths due to COVID-19, the food giant is now asking the U.S. Supreme Court to weigh in on the matter.
Arguing that recent court rulings against the company will have “drastic consequences for the next national emergency,” Tyson has told the nation’s high court that private companies “will not be so eager to willingly aid the federal government in a crisis” if those rulings are allowed to stand.
A recent decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, which echoed a decision last year by the Eighth Circuit appeals court, found the Trump administration’s March 2020 efforts to keep meatpacking plants open during the pandemic don’t shield the company from lawsuits alleging negligence.
Tyson works to move workers’ lawsuits to federal court
Those and other court decisions have paved the way for workers’ lawsuits against Tyson to be heard by state courts in Iowa, Texas and elsewhere, despite the company’s efforts to move the cases to federal court.
Court filings suggest that Tyson believes its argument that it was only doing business under the direction of the federal government will prove to be a more effective defense in federal court than in state court.
Trump’s March 2020 directive stated the Secretary of Agriculture had to “take all appropriate action” to ensure that the nation’s meat and poultry processors continued operations during the pandemic, but the companies had to operate in a manner that was consistent with guidance offered by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The directive stopped short of ordering the plants to remain open. Read more