GENTRY — Contract laborers hired through Labor, Inc., in Gentry to work at Benton County Foods’ breeder farms during the past decade claim their pay did not meet federal minimum wage guidelines, according to a suit filed Tuesday inU.S. District Court in Fayetteville.

Three former laborers - Manual Posada Reyes, Jose Reyes and Dennis Reyes - were named as plaintiffs in a collective action lawsuit against the staffing company, its owner Patricia Wilmoth and Cal-Maine Foods, the nation’s largest egg producer. Last year the Jackson, Miss.-based Cal-Maine sold about 805 million dozen eggs, or 18 percent of the domestic market share, according to company records. Cal-Maine has about 2,100 employees.

Wilmoth did not return messages left at her office in Gentry on Thursday and Friday.

Tim Dawson, chief financial officer for Cal-Maine, offered no comment onthe lawsuit Thursday.

The workers claim they caught breeder hens and hauled them to a rendering plant in company trucks, as well as administered medication to the birds under the direction of Benton County Foods. They claim their piecerate pay equaled about $4 per hour.

The federal minimum wage is $7.25 per hour, since it was raised from $6.55 in July 2009.

“It’s the classic scam. Companies claim these workers are independent contractors and therefore it’s not their problem how they are being paid or treated; when in essence they are employees of Benton County Foods and Cal-Maine,” said John Holleman of Holleman & Associates in Little Rock. He is the lead attorney for the plaintiffs.

Independent contractors are not protected by the Fair Labor and Standards Act, but Holleman hopes to prove the Reyes brothers were employees.

He said the men reported to work to the same employer for almost a decade, working as directed by Benton County Foods.

The Department of Labor does not get involved in independent contractor disputes, but Holleman said abuse is rampant.

Marshall Prettyman, seniorattorney with Legal Aid of Arkansas in Fayetteville, said the fundamental question for the court to decide is whether the workers qualify as employees.

Third-party staffing companies such as Labor, Inc., usually place workers on a temporary basis. But, Prettyman said if the employment becomes extended, they are basically working as employees.

A 10-year stint likely meets that burden of proof, he said.

Holleman said the plaintiffs hope to recover $20,000 to $30,000 in underpaid wages. Although the Reyes brothers worked on behalf of Benton County Foods for nearly a decade, he said the statute of limitation, under which they can recover, is three years.

Holleman said the suit is a collective action, which is open to any contract laborers employed by the defendants.

A collective action is similar to a class action suit, but deals with employment issues.

Prettyman said if the plaintiffs are successful, determining who is liablefor payment could be tricky if the defendants point blame.

It’s likely to come down to whoever wrote the checks, he said.

Frank Jones, poultry consultant in Springdale, said the poultry and egg industries have gone to third-party arrangements in recent years to eliminate some of the headaches associated with the industry’s dirtiest jobs such as poultry catching.

He agreed it’s beneficial for the company that gets the job done and escapes the liabilities associated with physically demanding, highturnover jobs.

Prettyman said it’s no surprise many of the contract labor workers are immigrants because they are less likely to question business practices.

Christie Swanson contributed to this report.

News, Pages 1 on 08/17/2011