Judge: Lawsuit over forced labor at chicken plants can move forward

Alawsuit against a multibillion-dollar company brought by three men who were forced to work for free in chicken processing plants can move forward, a federal judge has ruled.

The men’s claims alleging racketeering, labor law violations and human trafficking are sufficiently plausible for the case to continue, the judge wrote in an opinion and order earlier this month.

The class-action lawsuit, filed in October 2017 in the Northern District of Oklahoma, alleges Jay-based Christian Alcoholics & Addicts in Recovery — or CAAIR — and Simmons Food Inc. forced men to work for free under threats of being sent to prison if their work was unsatisfactory. The suit accuses the organizations of fraud because the men did not receive the rehabilitation or treatment they were promised.

Instead, they were required to work for more than 40 hours per week.

Read more: https://www.readfrontier.org/stories/judge-lawsuit-over-forced-labor-at-chicken-plants-can-move-forward/