On April 1, 2013, a jury in Iowa
City, Iowa awarded $420 million to 32 mentally disabled employees who suffered
years of abuse and discrimination. The group of employees worked for Henry’s
Turkey Service in Atalissa – each man is being awarded $2 million in
compensatory damages and %5.5 million in punitive damages.
The company is guilty of sending
hundreds of disabled men to work in a meat-processing plant for 41 cents an
hour. This ill treatment had been done for over 40 years. The company sent men
from Texas to Iowa to live in a century old school building transformed into a
bunkhouse. The company’s procedures were eradicated when state officials were
made aware of the conditions inside the bunkhouse along with the fact that the
company did not carry a license to care for disabled individuals.
In addition, the company failed to
provide their employees with disability services, health insurance, or Iowa Medicaid.
As a result, many of the men did not receive medical or dental care for years.
Furthermore, the bunkhouse did not provide central heat and violated fire
safety. One social worker testified that some men were punished by being taken
to a garage where they were physically abused by caretakers.
Employer Discrimination
The story above is extremely tragic, but
truly significant to illustrate that all employees, disabled or not, deserve
fair treatment and workers’ rights. By California law, all employers should
harbor a safe work environment where employees feel protected and unharmed. In
the described incident, the employers were taken advantage of and mistreated the
employees because they were disabled. Employers are not allowed to discriminate
for reasons including, but not limited to:
- Age
- Disability
- Pregnancy
- Religion
- National origin
- Gender
Workers Compensation Attorney
If you feel that you were discriminated against by your
employer and mistreated, you should contact one of our workers’ compensation attorneys at the Rawa Law Group. With the legal assistance of our workers’
compensation attorneys, you may be able to earn monetary compensation for your
pain and suffering. Contact us today in order to protect your worker’s rights.
