Tyson Fires Seven Managers After Probe Into COVID-19 Wagering at Pork Plant

Tyson Foods Inc said on Wednesday it had fired seven managers at an Iowa pork plant after investigating allegations that they took bets on how many employees would catch COVID-19.

Tyson-plant_from-Tyson-release_0.jpg
Tyson-plant_from-Tyson-release_0.jpg
(Tyson)

(Reuters) - Tyson Foods Inc said on Wednesday it had fired seven managers at an Iowa pork plant after investigating allegations that they took bets on how many employees would catch COVID-19.

The independent investigation, led by former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, came in response to a lawsuit filed by the son of a worker at a Tyson facility in Waterloo, Iowa, who died in April of complications from the virus.

The lawsuit claimed that plant managers misled workers about COVID-19, bet on workers catching the virus and allowed sick employees to continue working.

Tyson in November suspended the employees accused of wagering at the Waterloo facility - its largest U.S. pork plant.

The COVID-19 pandemic has ravaged the meatpacking industry, infecting thousands of workers at slaughterhouses hit by outbreaks.

(Reporting by Uday Sampath in Bengaluru; Editing by Devika Syamnath)

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