Court rules for abused mentally disabled workers

A US jury has awarded $240m to 32 mentally disabled men who suffered decades of abuse while working at a turkey processing company in Iowa, reports the BBC today. “Jurors in Davenport heard how the men had been kicked, verbally abused and denied toilet breaks by their employers from Henry’s Turkey Serviceimages-2

“One expert said the disabled workers – who were each paid only $65 per month – had been “virtually enslaved”. The verdict is in addition to $1.3m in back wages awarded to the men in 2012.

“On Wednesday, the jury determined that the now-defunct Henry’s Turkey Service had violated the Americans with Disabilities Act. It said the company had created a hostile environment and discriminating conditions of employment for the men, who had learning difficulties and worked at the West Liberty plant under the company’s oversight since the 1970s. The award gives each worker $7.5m in compensation. The authorities say they will now seek to recover the award from the remaining assets of the liquidated firm. Continue reading “Court rules for abused mentally disabled workers”

Biden pardons single yam in Thanksgiving ritual

WASHINGTON—“In keeping with a longstanding Thanksgiving tradition, Vice President Joe Biden ceremonially pardoned a 4-pound yam today at a ceremony in the White House Rose Garden.”

As The Onion continues it’s holiday parody: ‘Under my authority as vice president of the United States of America, I hereby grant this yam full and unconditional clemency,’ a smiling Biden declared as he gently patted ‘Spud,’ a Beauregard sweet potato grown in Louisiana and selected from millions of candidates yielded by this year’s harvest. ‘May he never find himself in a casserole. Right, little guy?’ Like yams reprieved before him, Spud will ride as an honored guest aboard the second float of the Disneyland Thanksgiving Day Parade before spending the rest of his life in the comfort and safety of a tuber petting zoo.”

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