Cargill, Sanderson, Wayne to Pay $85 Million in DOJ Settlement (2)

Cargill Inc., Sanderson Farms Inc., and Wayne Farms LLC signed an agreement with the Justice Department to pay $84.8 million to resolve allegations that the chicken product makers violated antitrust law by improperly communicating about worker wages and benefits.

The proposed consent decrees, filed as part of a lawsuit Monday by the DOJ’s Antitrust Division in the US District Court for the District of Maryland, name data consulting firm Webber, Meng, Sahl and Company as the companies’ information broker. The company and its president Jonathan Meng are also named as defendants.

The settlement, pending court approval, is federal antitrust regulators’ ...