You got a notice because records show you work or used to work for a poultry company that was sued in this lawsuit. Some poultry companies agreed to pay a total of $398.05 million in settlements to stop this lawsuit.

You may be part of the group of people affected, called the “Class.” The Court will hold a hearing on June 5, 2025 to decide if it will approve the settlements. Your rights may be affected.

Read this information to see if you are part of the lawsuit and learn more about the settlements and your choices. Then, decide if you need to take any action.

This lawsuit says that some poultry companies talked to each other about how much to pay their workers in a way that was against the law and allowed them to pay workers less money than they should have.

Several workers sued these poultry companies. The people who sued are called the “Plaintiffs.” The poultry companies they sued are called the “Defendants.” The Defendants say they did nothing wrong.

This lawsuit is called Jien v. Perdue Farms, No. 1:19-cv-02521.

This lawsuit is in the United States District Court for the District of Maryland.

The judge in this lawsuit is Judge Stephanie A. Gallagher.

In a class action lawsuit, one or more people sue on behalf of a larger group. The people who represent the group are called “class representatives.” The whole group of people is called a “class.” Individual people in the class are called “class members.”

The people who represent this Class are Judy Jien, Kieo Jibidi, Elaisa Clement, Glenda Robinson, Emily Earnest, and Kevin West.

The Defendants in this lawsuit are:

• Agri Stats, Inc.
• Allen Harim Foods, LLC
• Amick Farms, LLC
• Butterball, LLC
• Cargill Meat Solutions Corporation
• Case Farms, LLC
• Case Foods, Inc.
• Fieldale Farms Corporation
• Foster Poultry Farms
• George’s Foods, LLC
• George’s, Inc.
• Jennie-O Turkey Store, Inc.
• Keystone Foods, LLC
• Koch Foods, Inc.
• Mountaire Farms, Inc.
• O.K. Foods, Inc.
• Peco Foods, Inc.
• Perdue Farms, Inc.
• Perdue Foods LLC
• Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation
• Sanderson Farms, Inc.
• Simmons Foods, Inc.
• Tyson Foods, Inc.
• Wayne Farms, LLC
• Webber, Meng, Sahl and Company, Inc. d/b/a WMS & Company, Inc. (“WMS”)

All the Defendants except Agri Stats, have settled in this case. These settlements are reflected in documents called “Settlement Agreements.” Each of the Settlement Agreements in this case are available here.

All but one Defendants who settled are making payments to Class Members to settle this case. This is a list of the amounts those Defendants are paying:

• Allen Harim Foods, LLC: $5,000,000.00
• Amick Farms, LLC: $6,250,000.00
• Butterball, LLC: $8,500,000.00
• Cargill Meat Solutions Corporation: $15,000,000.00
• Case Farms, LLC and Case Foods, Inc.: $8,500,000.00
• Fieldale Farms Corporation: $5,500,000.00
• Foster Poultry Farms: $13,300,000.00
• George’s Foods, LLC and George’s, Inc.: $5,800,000.00
• Jennie-O Turkey Store, Inc.: $3,500,000.00
• Koch Foods, Inc.: $18,500,000.00
• Mountaire Farms, Inc.: $13,500,000.00
• O.K. Foods, Inc: $4,750,000.00
• Peco Foods, Inc.: $3,000,000.00
• Perdue Farms, Inc. and Perdue Foods LLC: $60,650,000.00
• Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation: $29,000,000.00
• Sanderson Farms, Inc.: $38,300,000.00
• Simmons Foods, Inc. and Simmons Prepared Foods, Inc.: $12,000,000.00
• Tysons Foods, Inc. and Keystone Foods, LLC: $115,500,000.00
• Wayne Farms, LLC: $31,500,000.00

Each of these Defendants has also agreed to provide cooperation to the benefit of the Class as part of their settlements.

One Defendant, WMS, settled without payment. As part of that settlement, WMS provided important cooperation to the benefit of the Class.

The lawsuit continues against Defendant Agri Stats. Plaintiffs want Agri Stats to make changes to the way it does business to benefit poultry workers.

The Court has not decided who is right. Instead, the Plaintiffs and Defendants have agreed to settle. A settlement is an agreement to stop the lawsuit. That way, it avoids the cost of a trial, and the people in the Class will get money. The Class Representatives and the attorneys think the settlements are best for the Class.

You are in the Class if you:

• Worked at any of the Defendants’ poultry processing complexes, plants, hatcheries, and feed mills,
• In the United States,
• At some point between January 1, 2000, and July 20, 2021.

You can be part of the Class even if you did not work for a Defendant for the entire time period.

If you got a postcard or email notice, records show you are in the Class.

If you did not get postcard or email notice, you may still be in the Class:

• Click here to see if the records show you are a Class Member.
• If your name is not in the records, click here to see if your employer or the place you worked at is on the list.

The Settlement Administrator reserves the right to ask Class Members and anyone who seeks to participate in the Class to provide additional documentation. You understand participation in these settlements may be denied if you are unable to provide adequate documentation if asked to do so.

Still not sure? Get free help:

• Call 1-877-311-3745
• Email info@poultrywages.com
• Write to Poultry Wages Settlement c/o A.B. Data, Ltd., PO Box 173016, Milwaukee, WI 53217

If the Court approves the settlements and you are a Class Member who has not opted out, you will get money from the settlements. Defendants will pay $398,050,000 total. That money will be distributed to Class Members, after payments have been made for:

• Attorneys’ fees up to 33.33% of the settlements ($132,670,065) plus interest earned on that amount,
• Lawsuit costs up to $8 million,
• Notice and administration costs up to $2 million, and
• Up to a $30,000 award to each Class Representative.

At this time, it is not known how much money you will get.

If you worked at any Defendant’s poultry processing complexes, plants, hatcheries, or feed mills in the United States at any point from January 1, 2000, until July 20, 2021, you are part of the Class. Members of the Class are eligible for payments from settlements with 20 Defendants totaling $363.25 million.

You are also part of an additional class (called the “Subclass”) if you worked in any Defendant’s poultry plants in the United States at any point from January 1, 2009, until July 20, 2021. If you are also part of this Subclass, you are eligible for an additional payment from settlements with three additional Defendants totaling $34.8 million.

Money will be paid proportionally (or pro rata) to members of the Class and Subclass. The amount of money you get will depend on:

• How many people are in the Class and Subclass,
• How long you worked for any of the Defendant(s),
• How much money you made, and
• How much money the Court approves for lawsuit costs, attorneys’ fees, and Class Representative awards.

This is why it is important that you make sure the information we have for you is correct.

Any money you received will be treated as wages, subject to applicable tax withholding, and may be reported to the taxing authorities and the Settlement Member on an IRS Form W-2. Any required payroll taxes will be withheld from your payment and paid by the Settlement Administrator. Check with your tax professional if you have any questions.

To update or change your contact, employment, and earnings information, you can:

• Click here to search for your information in the records. When your information appears, you can update or change your contact, employment, and/or earnings information.
• Call 1 877-311-3745.
• Email info@poultrywages.com.

To get earnings history from the payroll service provider: If you worked for any of the following defendants, you may be able to retrieve earnings history or partial earnings history from their payroll service provider. Instructions on accessing your earnings are below.

If you give personal information to make sure you get the correct payment, your information will be treated as confidential. The Court decided that any information you give in this case will only be used by the Settlement Administrator and cannot be given to anyone else without a Court order.

You will get paid after the settlements are approved and any appeals end. This process can take time. Please check this website for updates.

If you stay in the Class (and if you do nothing), you may get money. But you will also “release” all the claims made or that could be made in this lawsuit. That means that if you stay in the Class, you cannot sue the Defendants on your own for these same claims. The same is true for the Subclass.

These claims you are releasing if you stay in the Class or Subclass are described in the Settlement Agreements available here.

Opting out means to leave a settlement class. If you opt out from a settlement class, you will not get money from that settlement, and you will not be able to object to that settlement. If you want to sue the Defendant in a settlement on your own (or with your own lawyer) about the claims in this lawsuit, you must opt out of that settlement class.

No. If you opt out from a settlement, you will not get money from that settlement. And if you opt out of all of the settlements, you will not get money from any of the settlements in this case.

Objecting is when you tell the Court that you don’t like something about a settlement. You must give reasons why you think the Court should not approve it. The Court will consider your views. You can hire your own lawyer to help you, but you don’t have to.

No. The judge cannot change the settlement terms. She can only approve or not approve the settlements as they are. If the judge agrees with your objection, she may not approve the settlements.

No. You cannot object to a settlement if you opt out of it

Yes. The judge assigned lawyers from three law firms to represent you and the other Class Members in this lawsuit. The law firms are Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP, Handley Farah & Anderson PLLC, and Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PLLC. These lawyers are called “Class Counsel.”

You will not be charged for these lawyers, and you can contact them for free. If you want to be represented by your own lawyer, you can hire one, but you may have to pay them.

No. Class Counsel will ask the judge for attorneys’ fees up to 33.33% of the settlements ($132,670,065) plus interest earned on that amount and lawsuit costs up to $8 million. They have not been paid yet for their work on this lawsuit.

Class Counsel will also ask the judge for a $30,000 award for each of the Class Representatives. Awards are given to the Class Representatives for their help.

If the judge approves any requests for attorneys’ fees, lawsuit costs, or Class Representative awards, the payments will be made from the settlements.

At the hearing, the Court will consider if it will approve the settlements. The Court may consider any objections at that time. The judge will listen to people who have asked to speak at the hearing. The Court may also decide how much it wants to pay Class Counsel and the Class Representatives.

After the hearing, the Court will decide whether to approve the settlements. We do not know how long this decision will take.

No. You do not have to come to the hearing, but you are welcome to come at your own cost.

If you mail a written objection to the Court on time, the judge will consider it. This is true even if you do not come to Court to talk about it.

You may also pay your own lawyer to attend, but you do not have to.