Guyton, et al. v. Tyson Foods

Plaintiffs filed suit against Tyson for not paying wages due under the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (FLSA), 29 U.S.C. 201 et seq., and under Iowa law. The jury returned a verdict for Tyson and plaintiffs appealed. The court concluded that the district court did not err in letting the jury decide that donning, doffing, and walking were not "integral or indispensable to a principal activity;" because plaintiffs must prove their case on a classwide basis, the district court did not err in failing to give Reich v. IBP, Inc. and IBP, Inc. v. Alvarez preclusive effect; sufficient evidence existed that the disputed activities were not integral and indispensable classwide; sufficient evidence supported a finding that plaintiffs failed to prove damages for knife users; there was no error in allowing the jury to hear evidence on Tyson's good faith defense; plaintiffs failed to show an abuse of discretion in excluding documentary evidence; and summary judgment was appropriate that donning and doffing during the 35-minute meal period is not compensable. Accordingly, the court affirmed the judgment of the district court. View "Guyton, et al. v. Tyson Foods" on Justia Law