Daniel Wiessner
(Reuters) – A group founded by former Trump administration officials faces charges Tyson Foods (NYSE:) on Wednesday alleging discrimination against U.S. citizens by disproportionately hiring immigrants, including children and people in the country illegally.
America First Legal (AFL) has sent letters to the U.S. Department of Justice, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the Iowa Civil Rights Agency calling for an investigation into the Arkansas meatpacker’s employment practices.
The letters say Tyson employs 42,000 foreign workers, more than a third of its U.S. workforce, and is engaged in programs to attract more employees.
More than half of all U.S. meatpacking workers are immigrants, compared with about 17% of the entire U.S. workforce, according to the Center for Economic and Policy Research, a think tank.
The AFL said Tyson took advantage of a surge in illegal border crossings that peaked last year to create a pool of cheap labor.
The group is led by Stephen Miller, who was a senior adviser to former Republican President Donald Trump, known for his hard-line stance on immigration. Former acting U.S. Attorney General Matthew Whitaker is a member of the group’s board of directors, and some of the group’s staff lawyers served at the Trump-era Justice Department.
The AFL noted that a major food safety company that contracts with Tyson and other meat processors recently paid a $1.5 million fine for using teenagers in hazardous work. Some of these children worked at Tyson plants, although the company was not accused of wrongdoing.
The AFL accused Tyson of violating federal and Iowa laws that prohibit employers from discriminating on the basis of citizenship, race, national origin and other characteristics.
A Tyson spokesman said in a statement that the company strongly opposes illegal immigration and does not allow anyone under the age of 18 to be employed at its facilities.
“Any insinuation that we will discriminate against Americans by hiring immigrant workers is completely false. Today, Tyson Foods employs 120,000 team members in the United States, all of whom must be legally authorized to work in this country,” the spokesperson said.
The DOJ, EEOC and Iowa agency are not required to respond to or investigate complaints. If they investigate and find validity to the claims, they may try to reach a settlement with Tyson or sue the company.
The AFL has filed more than 30 complaints, mostly with the EEOC, accusing large U.S. companies of adopting diversity policies that discriminate against men or against white, Asian and heterosexual workers. But the complaint against Tyson appears to be the group’s first to allege bias against American workers.
The commission has not said whether it is investigating any complaints.