A $240 million verdict awarded to 32 mentally disabled workers who were subjected to years of abuse by their handlers at a turkey processing plant will be reduced to $1.6 million because of a federal cap.
Attorneys for the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and defendant Henry's Turkey Service agreed in legal briefs that, under federal law, each plaintiff can recover only $50,000 apiece, the Associated Press reported. The jury on May 1 awarded each worker $7.5 million.
Each plaintiff will also be entitled to separate back pay averaging about $50,000 under an earlier order in the case, finding that they were underpaid by about $1.37 million.
U.S. Senior Judge Charles Wolle is expected to enter a final judgment soon.
Jurors found that Henry's, a now-defunct Goldthwaite, Texas, company, subjected the men to years of abuse and discrimination at home and at work in Iowa. Henry's contracted out the workers to the West Liberty Foods plant from the 1970s until 2009 and oversaw their care at home and at work.
The men lived in a dilapidated bunkhouse in several miles from the West Liberty plant, and were subjected to verbal and physical abuse by other Henry's employees. West Liberty Foods was not accused of wrongdoing.
Attorneys for the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and defendant Henry's Turkey Service agreed in legal briefs that, under federal law, each plaintiff can recover only $50,000 apiece, the Associated Press reported. The jury on May 1 awarded each worker $7.5 million.
Each plaintiff will also be entitled to separate back pay averaging about $50,000 under an earlier order in the case, finding that they were underpaid by about $1.37 million.
U.S. Senior Judge Charles Wolle is expected to enter a final judgment soon.
Jurors found that Henry's, a now-defunct Goldthwaite, Texas, company, subjected the men to years of abuse and discrimination at home and at work in Iowa. Henry's contracted out the workers to the West Liberty Foods plant from the 1970s until 2009 and oversaw their care at home and at work.
The men lived in a dilapidated bunkhouse in several miles from the West Liberty plant, and were subjected to verbal and physical abuse by other Henry's employees. West Liberty Foods was not accused of wrongdoing.
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