By JEFF REINITZ
WCF Courier
Friday, July 3, 2009
WATERLOO --- Three workers at Tyson Fresh Meats said the company discriminated against them when they were fired because of questions over their immigration papers.
The attorney for Francisco Vilorio Correa, 61, Aida Pena del la Cruz, no age available, and Noemi Del Carmen Trinidad, 31, said in court records that Tyson Inc. axed the trio because of their national origin and race.
The three were treated differently than similarly situated white employees, according to the lawsuit filed by attorney Rockne Cole of Iowa City in Black Hawk County District Court in June.
The plaintiffs said they are all lawful permanent residents of the United States and hold citizenship in the Dominican Republic. They all live in Waterloo.
The firings began in late April 2008 following a company audit of immigration documents. Two of the plaintiffs earlier told The Courier more than 20 people were let go at the time.
This was just weeks before immigration agents raided the Agriprocessors meat packing facility in Postville in May 2008 and detained 389 undocumented workers.
Tyson Inc. spokeswoman Libby Lawson said the company doesn't comment on pending litigation. But she said in an e-mail statement the company has a diverse work force with policies prohibiting discrimination.
She said Tyson uses a government database to check employment eligibility of workers.
"Our company has voluntarily used E-Verify, formerly known as Basic Pilot, since 1998, and we have experienced very few problems with the system," the e-mailed statement from Lawson said.
"Any negatives have been far outweighed by the benefits this system has brought to our effort to ensure we are hiring properly documented workers," it said.
E-Verify is a free Internet-based system for employers put together by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and Social Security Administration.
The lawsuit said all three employees were in good standing with no prior disciplinary or performance problems.
On April 22, 2008, a human resources employee told Correa and Trinidad their documents were fake but didn't allow them to provide additional documentation, according to court records. They were let got that day.
De la Cruz was fired a short time later after a Tyson human resources employee questioned her identification documents, the lawsuit states.
Correa and Trinidad were rehired in December, the suit states. It wasn't clear if de la Cruz was rehired.
Cole said in court records that similarly situated white employees didn't have to establish the authenticity of their documents.
http://www.wcfcourier.com/articles/2009/07/03/business/local/11470674.txt
