Meatpackers Sue for Unpaid COVID Screening Time

Meatpackers for Cargill Meat Solutions Corp., a Pennsylvania meat plant, have recently filed a class action lawsuit alleging they are owed significant wages. Meatpackers for the company have claimed they went unpaid for time spent undergoing COVID screenings.Thousands of workers at the company’s two plant locations could be affected under the Pennsylvania Minimum Wage Act (“PMWA”).

In order to adhere to company policy, employees at these meat plants had to arrive to work prior to their shift starttimes and spend time during their lunch breaks completing COVID-19 symptom checks. Meatpackers went completely unpaid during the time they spent waiting andundergoing these health screenings. Due to the screening process being a mandatory part of their on-site job duties, meatpackers should have been paid for this time according to the PMWA. Additionally, when that extra screening time pushed their overall work hours above 40 hours per week, they should have been paid overtime at time and half their regular hourly rate.

If you work at a company that requires some sort of screening, before, during, or after your shifts, make sure you are being compensated for that time. Whether it’s a health screening or security screening time spent waiting in line and undergoing these checks should be compensable. If you have any questions regarding your rights about how you should be compensated for your time, don’t hesitate to call our employment law firm, Fitapelli & Schaffer, LLP, for a free and confidential phone consultation at (212)300-0375. You can also visit our website here for additional information regarding your rights.