Tyson Fresh Meats in Storm Lake, Iowa. (Photo via Google Earth)
A USDA inspector working at the Tyson Fresh Meats plant in Storm Lake resigned from his post earlier this year after a series of conflicts with Tyson officials.
State records indicate Richard C. Francis worked as a food-safety inspector with the U.S. Department of Agriculture from August 2013 through May of this year, when he resigned. As a food safety inspector, Francis was tasked with inspecting machines and animal parts for contamination at the Tyson Fresh Meats processing plant in Storm Lake.
After Francis resigned, he filed an application for unemployment benefits, which led to a recent hearing before Administrative Law Judge Patrick B. Thomas.
According to Thomas’ written findings in the unemployment case, the events leading up to Francis’ resignation began last November when Francis was inspecting a “slaughter line” in the Storm Lake plant. Francis noticed one of the hog carcasses contained fecal matter that was coming into contact with a surface designated for food contact and ordered the line to be shut down. He then directed two Tyson employees to clean the carcass and the food-contact surface.
While doing so, he was approached by a Tyson supervisor who shouted at him several times, telling him to restart the line. According to Thomas, Francis tried to explain the situation, but the Tyson supervisor continued pointing and shouting, “You cannot stop the line!”
Later, Francis completed and submitted a harassment report with the USDA. Because the USDA does not have supervisory or disciplinary authority over Tyson employees, the agency’s normal practice in such cases is to ask that the plant superintendent address the situation, which is what happened in Francis’ case.
A few months later, in January 2024, Francis heard that the Tyson superintendent had complained to a USDA supervisor that Francis had been shutting down the production lines unnecessarily. Francis then confronted the superintendent, told her he had concerns about her comments, and proceeded to explain why he shut down the production lines.
“The superintendent did not appreciate the unexpected explanation,” Thomas stated in his written findings, “so she instructed him to talk to his supervisor about the issue and walked away.”
The Tyson superintendent then filed a complaint with the USDA against Francis for his “unprofessionalism,” and the USDA issued Francis an “instructionary letter” reminding him to be professional in the workplace and to follow appropriate procedures.
Francis then filed a workplace violence complaint against the Tyson superintendent over their discussion in January. The USDA then transferred Francis to a plant in Minnesota for two days, ostensibly to give him time to “calm down,”
Working with coworkers and a supervisor you do not like, and receiving corrective action, are standard parts of the American work experience.
– Administrative Law Judge Patrick B. Thomas
On March 28, Francis filed a complaint against his supervisor at the USDA for allegedly being dismissive and disregarding his concerns related to Tyson.
A few weeks later, on April 19, while inspecting hogs on a production line, Francis shut down the line so workers could remove several carcasses. A Tyson supervisor then approached Francis, shouting at him to restart the line.
A similar situation happened on April 26 when a Tyson supervisor yelled at Francis for shutting down a production line. After each of the April incidents, Francis filed workplace violence complaints against the Tyson supervisors.
After waiting a few days for a response to his complaints, Francis filed a complaint against the USDA’s district office for failing to take appropriate action.
The USDA, noting that Francis had filed workplace violence complaints against Tyson supervisors on both the day and night shifts, then concluded it would be best to temporarily reassign him to a different facility, if only for his personal safety.
On May 7, the USDA district office called Francis and informed him he was being temporarily transferred to the Tyson facility in Marshalltown while the office investigated his complaints. Francis then sat in his car for an hour before going back into the USDA office to inform his supervisor wasn’t feeling well and would be taking sick leave and going home for the day.
After working in Marshalltown for two weeks, Francis returned to work at the Storm Lake plant and subsequently submitted a request to use sick leave to cover his time off work on May 7. The supervisor refused the request and said the hour Francis spent in his car would have to be treated as “absent without leave” time. The USDA then submitted a request for disciplinary action against Francis for failing to follow his supervisor’s instructions in filling out his timesheet, and Francis resigned.
He later filed for unemployment compensation and collected more than $7,300 in benefits before the matter went to for a hearing. Two weeks ago, Thomas ruled Francis was ineligible for unemployment benefits.
“Taken together, it is conceivable that the Tyson supervisors’ shouting and unprofessional conduct had a serious impact” on Francis, Thomas stated in his ruling, while noting that the issue at hand was whether Francis quit because the work environment was intolerable, detrimental, unlawful or unsafe. Thomas concluded Francis had failed to make that case.
“While the Tyson employees’ behavior was unprofessional and inappropriate, it did not rise to the level of abusive, discriminatory, berating, or cruel treatment that required (Francis) to quit,” Thomas ruled. “Working with coworkers and a supervisor you do not like, and receiving corrective action, are standard parts of the American work experience.”