Pilgrim’s $29 Million Wage-Fixing Settlement Gets First Court OK

The poultry plant employees leading antitrust litigation over an alleged scheme to drive down pay for the industry’s largely immigrant workforce won preliminary approval Tuesday from a federal judge in Baltimore for a $29 million settlement with JBS SA subsidiary Pilgrim’s Pride Corp.

Judge Stephanie A. Gallagher signed off tentatively on the deal, which would let Pilgrim’s exit the proposed class action moving forward in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland.

The ruling follows less than three weeks after the workers leading the case sought Gallagher’s approval, disclosing the $29 million settlement amount and noting that ...