Federal officials say nearly 3000 workers hired to euthanize chickens and turkeys struck by bird flu in 2015 are eligible for back pay.
According to the U.S. Department of Labor, the workers were underpaid and they are owed, as a group, $1.7 million in wage. The USDA hired a Massachusetts company during the bird flu outbreak of 2015 to manage killing and disposing of infected commercial flocks and then cleaning the facilities. Federal officials say in some cases subcontractors hired by the Massachusetts company failed to pay overtime or the hourly wage that was paid did not match the federal guidelines.
The Department of Labor is searching for eligible employees who worked eight years ago at sites in Osceola, Sioux and Cherokee Counties to deal with bird flu outbreaks.
(This post has been updated after the Department of Labor confirmed this morning the employees owed back pay for work in Iowa had worked in the three counties named above, not cities listed in the department’s original news releae.)