America First Legal that includes prominent members of the previous Administration have filed complaints alleging that Tyson Foods has violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 among other transgressions. The America First Legal Group noted, “There is ample reason to suspect that Tyson prefers hiring aliens and as a “joint employer” alien minors over American citizens through out labor supply chain.” The allegations probably arise following a policy statement by Tyson Foods that they were willing to employ a limited number of legally admitted refugees from Central America entering the U.S. under existing legislation and rules. This apparently angered advocates for stricter limits on immigration and rejection of claims for refugee status.
In response to the allegations and legal complaints, a spokesman for Tyson Foods stated, “Any insinuation that we would discriminate against U.S. citizens to hire immigrant workers is completely false. To date Tyson foods employs 120,000 team members in the U.S. all of whom are required to legally authorized to work in this country.” Tyson Foods opposes illegal immigration and the employment of minors in all facilities as corporate policy.
During the previous Administration, Tyson Foods was instrumental through its Chairman in motivating the April 29th 2020 Presidential Executive Order relating to ongoing operation of meat packing plants during the pre-vaccination phase of the COVID pandemic and also indemnifying employers from responsibility in the event of infection among workers.