Hormel, Meat Plants Set to Pay $13.5 Million in Wage-Fixing Case

Hormel Foods Corp. and two meat processing plants will pay a combined $13.5 million to settle claims they conspired to suppress worker pay, marking the latest antitrust deal brokered in the protein industry.

The proposed deal from worker plaintiffs along with Hormel, Rochelle Foods LLC, and Quality Pork Processors Inc. comes amid a flurry of settlements announced in recent weeks. Those include a $100 million deal brokered by Pilgrim’s Pride Corp. to settle claims it conspired with other poultry processors to suppress the pay of chicken farmers.

In a separate case, Koch Foods Inc. and Jennie-O Turkey Store Inc. announced ...