Company Housed 65 Disabled Men in Bunkhouse is Subject to Million Dollar Fine

A Texas-based company, Henry's Turkey Service, shortchanged its mentally challenged workers by at least $1 million and subjected the men to abuse and humiliating forms of discipline, a federal agency has discovered.

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission said the labor broker, with company operations in Iowa, acted with malice or reckless indifference in committing numerous major violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act, resulting in significant harm to the workers and "substantial economic benefits" to the company.
"What happened to the men employed by Henry's Turkey Service at West Liberty Foods is nothing short of horrific," Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Ia., said. "And what is particularly galling is that it was allowed to continue for so long. The EEOC appears to have documented a level of abuse more extreme than can be imagined in this day and age."

The EEOC findings could result in compensatory damages to make up for the workers' unpaid wages, or in punitive damages.

For the majority of the past 34 years, Henry's acted as a labor broker, placing mentally challenged Texas men in labor camps around the country where they worked for sub-minimum wages, according to the findings.

In Atalissa, Iowa, Henry's housed at least 65 disabled men in an old bunkhouse and paid those forty-one cents an hour to slaughter turkeys at the West Liberty Foods plant, according to the report.

In February 2009, The Des Moines Register asked state officials about the bunkhouse, its lack of a care-facility license and the workers' wages. A dozen government agencies began an immediate investigation, declared the bunkhouse unsafe and "deplorable," and relocated the 21 men still living there.

The commission's investigation centered on allegations that Henry's and its affiliate, Hill Country Farms, repeatedly violated the Atalissa workers' rights under the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Among the findings:

Henry's collected up to $11,000 per week from West Liberty Foods as payment for the men's labor at the plant. Henry's then paid dozens of workers a combined total of $340 to $500 per week. Over the last three years of the company's operation, Henry's underpaid the men by at least $1 million, based solely on minimum-wage violations. (workersxzcompxzkit)

The men's net pay for working at West Liberty Foods averaged forty-one cents an hour, despite the fact that they often performed at a level equal to able-bodied workers who earned $9 to $12 an hour. When that is taken into account, the amount of underpaid wages is even greater than the $1 million attributed to minimum-wage violations.

Henry's employees were subjected to a hostile work environment that included "verbal and physical abuse because of their mental disabilities." The men were "continually subjected to taunts, name-calling, humiliation and other offensive verbal conduct and mistreatment based upon their disability."

Henry's restricted the men's contact with others and subjected them to "unusual, excessively harsh, and often humiliating disciplinary actions." The company also failed to provide the men with "adequate access to medical care, all while taking advantage" of the men's vulnerable state.

Although Henry's paid just $600 per month to rent the bunkhouse from the city of Atalissa, the company made roughly $10,000 worth of deductions from workers' paychecks each month for housing.

Sylvia Piper of Iowa Protection and Advocacy, an agency that advocates for the disabled, said the EEOC's findings are consistent with those of her own investigators.

Author Rebecca Shafer, President, Amaxx Risks Solutions, Inc. has worked successfully for 20 years with many industries to reduce Workers’ Compensation costs, including airlines, healthcare, printing/publishing, pharmaceuticals, retail, hospitality and manufacturing. Contact: RShafer@ReduceYourWorkersComp.com or 860-553-6604.

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