A U.S. District Court judge denied Perdue Foods’ motion to dismiss a lawsuit from a Georgia farmer, court documents show.
In July, Roger Parker filed a federal lawsuit against Perdue Foods LLC, alleging the company misclassified him as a contract “independent contractor,” and unfairly terminated his contract after he voiced concerns “a potential violation by Perdue of the Packers & Stockyards Act” to the USDA.
In September, Perdue asked the court to dismiss the case, but Judge Tilman Self III denied the dismissal of the case as a whole last week.
However, the judge dismissed, at least for now, a fraud allegation by Parker. Self wrote that the plaintiff has a chance to clarify his claim in order to bring it into compliance with the rule, and can refile.
In the suit, Parker contends Perdue Foods did not properly weight his birds, causing him a loss in compensation.
The lawsuit said the company promises farmers “independence and financial success,” but also controls “virtually every aspect of [the] growers’ operations.” Parker argued that Perdue Foods’ rules treat contractors like employees and that they should therefore receive benefits in line with the title.
