021052 Lawsuit Against Tyson Unit Dismissed

Rock Island, IL - Tyson Foods Inc. said a federal judge dismissed a lawsuit against its IBP Fresh Meats unit because the court lacked jurisdiction in the case.

The world's largest processor and marketer of beef, chicken and pork said Judge Michael Mihm of U.S. District Court Central District of Illinois ruled last week that the suit was out of his jurisdiction because wages at IBP's Joslin, Ill., beef plant are governed by a collective bargaining agreement between the company and a labor union.

Tyson acquired IBP in September 2001.

The lawsuit, filed by the government, alleged Tyson reduced wages by hiring undocumented workers.

Tyson was indicted in December on federal charges that it tried to cut costs in its poultry factories by smuggling illegal immigrants from Mexico and giving them fraudulent work papers. Tyson and six employees of the Arkansas-based company were charged in the 36-count indictment, which contended they had tolerated the hiring of illegal immigrants since 1994.

The government said the alleged conspiracy included 15 Tyson plants in nine states: Alabama, Indiana, Kentucky, Missouri, Mississippi, North Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia.

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