Chief Executive Magazine Quotes Partner Mark Konkel on Lessons for Management Following Contract Worker Ruling

Partner Mark A. Konkel was featured in the Chief Executive Magazine article ​“7 Lessons in Employee Management from the Tyson Foods Contract Worker Ruling.”  In March, the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed a $5.8 million judgement against Tyson Foods as workers sought to be paid for the time they had spent putting on and taking off protective gear.  According to the article, ​“Tyson had hoped to be protected by the principle of the court’s ruling in a 2011 sexual-discrimination case, Wal-Mart vs. Dukes, in which the Supreme Court held that all of Wal-Mart’s female workers couldn’t be considered a class for purposes of the suit.” 

The article provides suggestions to business leaders to help protect their companies in the future. Mr. Konkel recommends that management throw out any reassuring assumptions they may have based on prior cases.  He said that many business leaders ​“took false comfort” in the court’s previous rulings in cases against Walmart and Comcast, ​“as if those decisions meant that class actions based on statistical evidence were effectively dead.”

To read the full article, please click here.