Tyson Foods fired seven managers who worked at a pork plant in Iowa after an investigation revealed they had placed bets on how many employees would get COVID-19.
The company launched an investigation after the allegations came to light in a wrongful death lawsuit filed on behalf of Isidro Fernandez, who died after contracting COVID-19. According to the lawsuit, one of the managers at a pork processing facility in Waterloo, Iowa, "organized a cash buy-in, winner-take-all betting pool for supervisors and managers to wager how many employees would test positive for COVID-19."
"We value our people and expect everyone on the team, especially our leaders, to operate with integrity and care in everything we do," said Dean Banks, Tyson Foods President and CEO said in a statement. "The behaviors exhibited by these individuals do not represent the Tyson core values, which is why we took immediate and appropriate action to get to the truth."
The plant had to be shut down in April due to a coronavirus outbreak that infected 1,000 of the 2,800 employees and killed six people. At the time, health officials said that the plant was responsible for 90% of the cases in Black Hawk County.
The plant re-opened two weeks later, after installing plexiglass to divide workstations and hand sanitizing stations around the plant. The company also provided employees with surgical masks and face shields and required them to check their temperature before work.
Meatpacking plants have been hotspots for coronavirus infections. There have been more than 75,000 cases linked to 1,250 food processing facilities across the country.
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