The Robert E. Coyle Federal Courthouse in Downtown Fresno. File photo

A class-action lawsuit has been brought against Central Valley Meat Co. for company policies that court documents allege encouraged even Covid-infected employees to keep coming to work.

The lawsuit is on behalf of workers at the slaughterhouse and meat packer in Hanford, where attorneys say clients were forced to work even when sick.

A complaint also states employees were not informed of Covid-19 infections.

The San Diego-based law firm representing the plaintiffs, Haeggquist & Eck, LLP, filed the lawsuit in the United States Eastern District of California.

Attorneys are suing for claims of public nuisance, wanton and reckless misconduct and unfair and unlawful business practices, citing violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act, as well as CDC and OSHA guidelines.

The main plaintiff, Maria Ornelas, contracted Covid-19 in April from working at Central Valley Meat, according to court documents. After she tried to take several days off of work after testing positive, Ornelas lost incentive pay and bonuses for which she should have been entitled, according to the complaint.

The complaint cites three different company policies that pressured employees to report to work. The first was a bonus appreciation policy that gave workers an additional $100 a week for perfect attendance. Under another program, the attendance incentive policy, employees lost $2.50 per hour for every scheduled hour they didn’t work. Attorneys also claim that Ornelas received disciplinary points for taking time off work.

The lawsuit alleges this violates the Family and Medical Leave Act.

A request for comment from Central Valley Meat Co. was not immediately returned.

According to court documents, Central Valley Meat Co. is the seventh-largest beef packer and processing company in the United States, processing 1,500 head of cattle a day. it has a facility in Vernon, California with 900 total employees. Its Hanford facility employs 750 people.

By April, the company had reported 161 positive Covid cases, which the lawsuit says was directly attributable to decisions made by leadership.

Control barriers such as plexiglass were not installed, nor were adequate masks, gloves or facial shields provided, the complaint states. Because of the fast pace of work, people were unable to take adequate breaks to wash hands.

It also states that workers were not told of positive cases. Some workers who commented or posted on Facebook about positive cases were told they could be fired. Attorneys said in the complaint this violates labor codes protecting employees who disclose information about working conditions.

It is also believed that multiple employees were allowed to return to work after testing positive. One worker was told to return two days after testing positive, according to the complaint. The class action extends four years prior to the pandemic to include workers affected by bonus and attendance policies.