Since March 6, 2007, Barkan Neff Handelman Meizlish represents a group of current and former chicken processing employees of Tyson Foods, Inc. in three lawsuits pending in federal court, one in Oklahoma and two in Tennessee.  The suits charge that Tyson, which is the largest chicken processor in the United States, requires its hourly chicken processing employees to work "off-the-clock" without compensation in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).  Barkan Neff Handelman Meizlish represents the workers at Tyson's plants in Broken Bow, Oklahoma, Shelbyville, Tennessee and Union City, Tennessee.

The complaint alleges that Tyson has engaged in a pattern and practice of unlawful conduct by failing to compensate its non-exempt hourly chicken processing employees for all of the time Tyson requires or permits such employees to perform work.  Employees were not paid for time spent obtaining, putting on or taking off the safety and sanitary equipment Tyson requires employees to wear, nor were they paid for the time required to clean that equipment.

Multiple cases have been filed against Tyson around the country by other law firms.  All of the cases were consolidated by the Panel on Multidistrict Litigation to the federal court in Columbus, Georgia.  The case is assigned to United States Distric Judge Clay Land.