Tyson Foods has fired seven managers at its pork plant in Waterloo, Iowa, who had been accused of betting on how many employees would contract COVID-19.
The allegations came to light in a wrongful-death suit filed on behalf of a worker who died of COVID in April. Tyson responded by suspending and eventually firing the managers, after hiring former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder to lead an investigation.
The suit alleged that not only did the managers start a betting pool on how many employees would come down with COVID, they lied to workers about the danger – while avoiding the plant floor themselves, to the point of leaving operations in the hands of inexperienced employees.
“We were very upset to learn of the behaviors found in the allegations, as we expect our leaders to treat all team members with the highest levels of respect and integrity,” Tyson CEO Dean Banks said in a statement.
