Perdue Farms Inc. accused by employees of widespread hiring of illegal aliens
April 12, 12:12 AM
Dave Gibson
6 comments

AP/Five employees of Perdue Farms Inc. have filed a federal, class-action lawsuit against 15 managers, accused of regularly hiring illegal aliens. The plaintiffs allege that the managers have conspired to hire large numbers of illegal aliens, thus suppressing the wages of legal workers.

The plants named in the suit are in Salisbury, Md., Accomac, Va.; Bridgewater, Va; Concord, N.C.; Cromwell, Ky.; Dillon, S.C.; Dothan, Ala.; Fayetteville, N.C.; Georgetown, Del.; Lewistown, N.C.; Milford, Del.; Monterey, Tenn.; Perry, Ga.; Rockingham, N.C.; Showell, Md.; and Washington, Ind.

The plaintiffs make the following accusations against Perdue managers:

- Falsely attesting on I-9 forms that illegal immigrants presented genuine work documents.
- Hiring employees that previously worked in other Perude plants under different aliases.
- Coaching illegal aliens to claim high numbers of dependents on tax forms to reduce tax withholding.
- Tipping off illegal employees to rumors of government raids in plants so they are not at the plant during the inspection and not arrested.
- Telling legal workers perceived to be underworking to work harder or they would be replaced by new hires "from the tomato fields," a euphemism for illegal workers.

The lawsuit states: “Illegal immigrants will work for extremely low wages, will typically not complain about workplace conditions and injuries, and because of their vulnerable situation, will accede to employer demands to work harder and longer hours than American citizens.â€