A large group of workers in chicken plants have\u00a0just\u00a0resolved claims of unpaid wages\u00a0for $3.3 million.\u00a0The workers alleged they went significantly underpaid when\u00a0hired out by subcontractors\u00a0for\u00a0federally funded contracts to\u00a0remove potentially infected poultry waste. The main contractor responsible for\u00a0the affected workers is\u00a0the Massachusetts based Clean Harbors Environments Services Inc.\u00a0They allegedly\u00a0failed to ensure that\u00a0workers were getting paid in accordance with the contracted rates.\u00a0The settlement will recover\u00a0wages for more than 4,000 workers\u00a0throughout nearly 90 job locations across the state of Iowa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The lawsuit specifically noted that subcontractors for Clean Harbors Environments Services failed to pay its workers weekly as well as the proper prevailing wage as required by federally funded service contracts. The DOL investigation found that workers were paid less than the required prevailing wage, which led to significant underpayment of their overtime wages when working over 40 hours in one work week. Hardworking, middle class workers, especially those in harsh working conditions, deserve to be paid at the premium required rates for their weekly and overtime pay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n