WICHITA, Kan. – Workers at National Beef Packing Co. filed a federal donning-doffing suit against the company on behalf of roughly 2,000 employees at the company’s Liberal, Kan., plant. The lawsuit was filed in US District Court in Kansas, and the plaintiffs are seeking class-action status.

Valente Sandoval Barbosa and Carolina Gaytan were identified as the lawsuit’s class representatives for hourly workers at the company, according to The Associated Press. The lawsuit claims employees were systematically underpaid for:

• The time it takes to put on and remove protective gear during unpaid meal breaks;
• walking to and from production lines; and
• waiting to clean equipment and for cleaning equipment;

The lawsuit also claims employees were not paid while waiting when the production line was not running.
The plaintiffs are seeking unpaid wages and overtime from National Beef Packing.