Tyson, Pilgrim’s, Hormel to Face Poultry Worker Wage-Fixing Suit

Tyson Foods Inc., Pilgrim’s Pride Corp., Hormel Foods Corp., and other top poultry processors must face antitrust claims over an alleged industrywide plot to drive down the wages of their largely immigrant workforce, a federal judge in Maryland ruled Thursday.

Judge Stephanie A. Gallagher, who tentatively tossed the case last year, said this time around that the plaintiffs—chicken plant employees paid by the hour—can lead a lawsuit on behalf of all poultry workers, including turkey plant employees and those on salary. They all allegedly felt the scheme’s impact similarly, the judge said.

The suit “sufficiently pled ...