Fired Agriprocessors worker sues company
Posted: Saturday, September 20, 2008
DES MOINES (AP) -- A man who says he was fired from his job as a supervisor at an embattled kosher meatpacking plant in Postville is seeking $3 million in a lawsuit against the company.
Orlando Rodriguez Perez claims in his lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court that he was fire after he brought attention to problems in the company's handling of sexual assault complaint. Perez makes several claims against Agriprocessors, including defamation, public humiliation, breach of contract, conspiracy to cover up organized illegal actions and unjust enrichment.
Perez, who is representing himself in the lawsuit, said he was fired in early May. Days later, nearly 400 people were arrested during a federal immigration raid at the plant.
In a letter filed with the court late last month, Perez asks the company and three officials named in the lawsuit to settle the action out of court.
"Do not allow a jury to make a decision that can be disastrous for your organization," Perez writes in the letter. "You know that my allegations are true. You know that you failed, that you violate the Law, and that your mistake caused my family and me a lot of unnecessary and unjustified pain and suffering."
He said in the letter that if the case goes to trial, he would donate any money a jury awards him to charitable organizations.
The company also operates a plant near Gordon, Neb.
In the complaint, Perez said he moved from Raeford, N.C. to work in the chicken area at the Agriprocessors meatpacking plant in Postville. He said he began working there in February 2008 and was to earn a base salary of $55,000 per year.
He claims he was retaliated against because he told several top officials with the company about some of the situations taking place in the plant, including a lack of sexual harassment training for managers and supervisors on how to respond to such complaints.
In an internal memo, Perez said he detailed his own observations of "improper, illegal and immoral" handling of sexual harassment complaints.
He said in one instance he was asked to translate for an alleged victim to a manager to whom she was making a sexual harassment report. Perez said the manager dismissed the case, telling the alleged harasser to "look for, and find women outside, not here in the plant." Perez claims the manager said he was going to transfer the victim to an area of the plant "where she can not speak more" and referred to her as a troublemaker.
Perez said that a few days after sending the memo to officials he was transferred to the shipping department, where he said he was asked to work 13 hours a day and perform work such as operating pallet jacks and fork lifts without any training.
While in the shipping area, Perez claims he presented ideas to improve the department to his immediate manager, Neal Rawley, and higher-up company officials. But, he said Rawley became angry with him. He said Rawley publicly humiliated and defamed him on two occasions by calling him "disloyal" in front of a group of people and telling Perez that he needed to understand and use the proper chain of command.
Perez claims in the lawsuit that the defendants conspired to remove him from his position because of his interest in presenting "issues that had to be addressed in order to comply with the law and make the company better prepared to face situations in the future."
Perez, a member of the U.S. Army Reserve, said in the lawsuit that the defamatory remarks made about him could keep him from obtaining a new military security clearance or an increase in clearance level that he needs to be promoted. He said that could affect the pension he is able to earn at his retirement.
Perez also claims that the company refused to pay him accrued vacation time and relocation money promised in a job offer letter. An attempt to reach Perez by telephone was unsuccessful. He didn't immediately respond to a request for comment to an e-mail address listed in court records.
The lawsuit names Agriprocessors Inc.; Rawley, the shipping and warehouse manager; Gary Norris, the operations manager; and Heshy Rubashkin, vice president of operations.
An e-mail message The Associated Press sent early Thursday to an Agriprocessors spokesman seeking comment on the case wasn't immediately returned.
Orlando Rodriguez Perez claims in his lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court that he was fire after he brought attention to problems in the company's handling of sexual assault complaint. Perez makes several claims against Agriprocessors, including defamation, public humiliation, breach of contract, conspiracy to cover up organized illegal actions and unjust enrichment.
Perez, who is representing himself in the lawsuit, said he was fired in early May. Days later, nearly 400 people were arrested during a federal immigration raid at the plant.
In a letter filed with the court late last month, Perez asks the company and three officials named in the lawsuit to settle the action out of court.
"Do not allow a jury to make a decision that can be disastrous for your organization," Perez writes in the letter. "You know that my allegations are true. You know that you failed, that you violate the Law, and that your mistake caused my family and me a lot of unnecessary and unjustified pain and suffering."
He said in the letter that if the case goes to trial, he would donate any money a jury awards him to charitable organizations.
The company also operates a plant near Gordon, Neb.
In the complaint, Perez said he moved from Raeford, N.C. to work in the chicken area at the Agriprocessors meatpacking plant in Postville. He said he began working there in February 2008 and was to earn a base salary of $55,000 per year.
He claims he was retaliated against because he told several top officials with the company about some of the situations taking place in the plant, including a lack of sexual harassment training for managers and supervisors on how to respond to such complaints.
In an internal memo, Perez said he detailed his own observations of "improper, illegal and immoral" handling of sexual harassment complaints.
He said in one instance he was asked to translate for an alleged victim to a manager to whom she was making a sexual harassment report. Perez said the manager dismissed the case, telling the alleged harasser to "look for, and find women outside, not here in the plant." Perez claims the manager said he was going to transfer the victim to an area of the plant "where she can not speak more" and referred to her as a troublemaker.
Perez said that a few days after sending the memo to officials he was transferred to the shipping department, where he said he was asked to work 13 hours a day and perform work such as operating pallet jacks and fork lifts without any training.
While in the shipping area, Perez claims he presented ideas to improve the department to his immediate manager, Neal Rawley, and higher-up company officials. But, he said Rawley became angry with him. He said Rawley publicly humiliated and defamed him on two occasions by calling him "disloyal" in front of a group of people and telling Perez that he needed to understand and use the proper chain of command.
Perez claims in the lawsuit that the defendants conspired to remove him from his position because of his interest in presenting "issues that had to be addressed in order to comply with the law and make the company better prepared to face situations in the future."
Perez, a member of the U.S. Army Reserve, said in the lawsuit that the defamatory remarks made about him could keep him from obtaining a new military security clearance or an increase in clearance level that he needs to be promoted. He said that could affect the pension he is able to earn at his retirement.
Perez also claims that the company refused to pay him accrued vacation time and relocation money promised in a job offer letter. An attempt to reach Perez by telephone was unsuccessful. He didn't immediately respond to a request for comment to an e-mail address listed in court records.
The lawsuit names Agriprocessors Inc.; Rawley, the shipping and warehouse manager; Gary Norris, the operations manager; and Heshy Rubashkin, vice president of operations.
An e-mail message The Associated Press sent early Thursday to an Agriprocessors spokesman seeking comment on the case wasn't immediately returned.
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