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Seattle Washington Wage and Hour Class Action Attorneys

"Our attorneys taught me a lot about the law and our rights. I was impressed by the way they confronted the company and told them they weren't going to get away with what they were doing. I felt like I was more than just a client. They cared deeply about the issues and the workers at the plant."

SEEKING JUSTICE AND FAIRNESS FOR WORKERS
Meatpacking is one of the most dangerous jobs in America. Hundreds of workers in the industry have been injured or killed. But the case brought by Maria Martinez and her co-workers wasn't about danger. It was about dignity. About being able to use the restroom or have lunch without being penalized. About being paid honestly for an honest day's work.

The class-action wage and hour claim case was brought against IBP/Tyson, one of the largest meatpacking companies in the world. It centered on the company's requirements of its employees to don and remove extensive protective clothing integral to doing their jobs but without compensating employees for their time in doing so.

Originally, class action representative Maria Martinez, who had worked at the plant for 12 years since moving from her native California, contacted SGB associating attorney David Mark. He brought SGB into the case to do the bulk of trial work while he focused on research and writing. Since the outset of the case in 1998, SGB has invested significant amounts of energy and resources in the case.

"We felt strongly about the case, and we're large enough that we could take it," noted attorney Kathy Goater. "These are people who don't know their rights and who don't speak English or for whom it is a second language. Collectively, they were some of the nicest people I've ever known, and it was hard to watch them being taken advantage of."

In September 2000, a Federal court found for the plaintiffs. IBP/Tyson was ordered to pay interest and double damages as a result of the time that had elapsed since the outset of the case. Despite the company's appeal, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the trial court's decision. Although the Defendant is trying to get the U.S. Supreme Court to review the case, it's unlikely they will do so, according to attorney Goater.

"It was amazing the way the workers trusted our attorneys enough to testify," Martinez said. "And the outcome showed workers at the plant that truth means something. It showed them that they have rights and that there is justice even if sometimes it takes awhile to get it."