The Iowa Supreme Court has awarded disability benefits to a former slaughterhouse worker who allegedly contracted brucellosis from butchering hogs. IBP, Inc. v. Burress, No. 07-1887 (Iowa, decided July 10, 2009). The court determined that the disease was caused by a traumatic event and thus was a compensable injury under state law. So ruling, the court affirmed an intermediate appellate court decision rejecting a district court’s determination that the claimant had an occupational disease and failed to timely file his workers’ compensation petition. The court discusses in some detail how the claimant came into contact with Brucella organisms through open cuts while exposed to hog blood during his 10-year tenure at IBP, Inc.’s meat-packing plant. He allegedly developed a chronic infection of the hips and bone as a result of his contact with blood products and tissue from slaughtered hogs, but was not apparently diagnosed with the disease until some six years…
Tag Archives labor
A California appeals court has determined that Starbucks did not violate state labor laws by allowing shift supervisors to share the tips left by customers in collective tip boxes and thus, overturned an $86 million award made to a class of current and former Starbucks’ baristas. Chau v. Starbucks Corp., No. D053491 (Cal. Ct. App., decided June 2, 2009). Because shift supervisors serve customers and rotate such duties with baristas, the appeals court determined that the shift supervisors were among those for whom the tips were intended. So ruling, the court distinguished Starbucks’ policy of equitably distributing collective tip-box proceeds from the prohibited practice of mandatory tip pooling.
As anticipated, federal prosecutors have reportedly filed a motion to dismiss a number of charges of aiding and abetting aggravated identity theft against a Postville, Iowa, slaughterhouse, its former executive and a former manager. The action was taken after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a conviction under the identity theft law requires a showing that those presenting false identification documents to employers knew they belonged to another real person. More information about the case and its effect on charges arising from the immigration raids that occurred in Iowa in 2008 appear in issue 303 of this Update. According to a news source, prosecutors knew they would be unable to prove that the undocumented immigrants who worked at an Agriprocessors, Inc. facility knowingly used identification papers belonging to others, and thus, they would be unable to prove that the managers and executives were guilty of aiding and abetting. After nearly…
The U.S. Supreme Court recently ruled that a conviction under the identity theft law requires a showing that those presenting false identification documents to employers knew they actually belonged to another real person. According to Justice Stephen Breyer, writing for the unanimous Court, the law was intended to crack down on classic identity theft, for example, where a defendant uses another person’s information to get access to that person’s bank account. Prosecutors have been using the law, which calls for a mandatory prison term, against immigrant workers to get them to plead guilty to lesser immigration charges and accept prompt deportation. After the Court issued its ruling on May 4, 2009, the manager of a meatpacking plant in Postville, Iowa, raided in May 2008, sought to withdraw her plea to a charge of aggravated identity theft for allegedly helping illegal immigrants get jobs at the plant with documents she knew…
OSHA has published an advance notice of proposed rulemaking, seeking data, information and comments about occupational exposure to diacetyl and food flavorings containing diacetyl. Diacetyl is a chemical used as a butter flavoring in products such as microwave popcorn, margarine, cooking sprays, snack foods, confectionaries, and other foods with dairy, butter and cheese flavors. Workers exposed to the chemical have reportedly developed respiratory impairments including a potentially fatal disease known as bronchiolitis obliterans. OSHA is considering developing a health standard regulating occupational exposure to diacetyl and food flavorings containing diacetyl and will accept comments until April 21, 2009. The agency requests that commenters focus on more than 60 specific questions concerning levels of exposure, number of employees exposed, symptoms and diseases found in exposed employees, exposure mitigation measures, employee training, risk assessments, and potential costs of an exposure standard, among other matters. According to OSHA, which is also seeking information about…
SHB Tort lawyers James Andreasen and Christopher McDonald have co-authored an article that discusses developments in the drafting of an agricultural sustainability standard under the auspices of the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). Noting that the initial draft, “if finalized, could have broad-reaching impact,” the authors observe that a number of stakeholders have already “expressed concerns about certain aspects of the draft,” which is intended to cover agricultural activities “from seed to store.” Among the draft’s requirements for agricultural producers would be (i) the adoption of organic practices, (ii) limitations on and phase-out of “synthetic” pesticides and fertilizers, and (iii) employment practices in the areas of collective bargaining rights and union organizing activities “that may go beyond existing legal requirements.” The article notes that voluntary ANSI standards are often adopted by governments as legal requirements and indicates how interested parties can become involved in the standard’s development.
