COVID-19
Agricultural Law Weekly Review—March 6, 2023
COVID-19: SCOTUS Denies Tyson’s Petition to Keep COVID Cases in Federal Court 🌾
On February 21, 2023, the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) denied Tyson Foods, Inc.’s (Tyson) petition to keep in federal court several negligence cases alleging that the 2020 COVID-related deaths of workers employed at Tyson’s Waterloo, Iowa plant were caused by Tyson’s negligence. Tyson Foods, Inc., et al., Petitioners v. Hus Hari Buljic, et al. No. 22-70. Tyson filed its petition following the Eight Circuit Court of Appeals’s opinion remanding the cases to state court in Fernandez v. Tyson Foods Inc, et al, No. […]
Agricultural Law Weekly Review—Week Ending Sept. 9, 2022
Pesticides/Herbicides: Bayer Wins Fifth Consecutive State Court Roundup Trial 🌾
On September 1, 2022, after a trial which began on August 3, a St. Louis County, Missouri state court jury returned a defense verdict after only a few hours of deliberation in favor of herbicide manufacturer Monsanto (Bayer’s predecessor in interest) finding that exposure to the glyphosate-containing herbicide Roundup did not cause the three separate plaintiffs’ non-Hodgkins’ lymphoma (NHL) in the consolidated case of Alesi, et al. v. Monsanto, 19SL-CC03617. This result totals five consecutive state court defense verdicts in cases taken to trial—two in Missouri, two in California, […]
Agricultural Law Weekly Review—Week Ending July 29, 2022
Antitrust: Justice Department Files Complaint and Proposed Consent Decrees in Poultry Plant Worker and Contract Grower Compensation Conspiracy 🌾
On July 25, 2022, the United States Justice Department (DOJ) announced that it filed a civil antitrust complaint in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland alleging meat producers Cargill Inc., Cargill Meat Solutions Corporation, Sanderson Farms Inc. and Wayne Farms LLC conspired to suppress worker pay, together with data consulting firm Webber, Meng, Sahl and Company (WMS) and its President, G. Jonathan Meng. Additionally, the DOJ proposed ten-year consent decrees as to all defendants and
Agricultural Law Weekly Review—Week Ending June 3, 2022
Food Policy: USDA Announces “Framework to Transform Food Systems” 🌾
On June 1, 2022, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced details of a set of actions collectively called a “Food Systems Transformation” framework, funded by American Rescue Plan Act and other pandemic relief legislation, to serve the purposes announced in Executive Order 14017 (America’s Supply Chains) and “to benefit consumers, producers and rural communities by providing more options, increasing access, and creating new, more, and better markets for small and mid-size producers.” The initial announcement outlined over $3 billion of investment in at least 16 USDA programs to […]
Agricultural Law Weekly Review—Week Ending January 21, 2022
Pesticides/Herbicides: ‘Pure’ Honey Label May Be Deceptive Due to Pesticide Residue
On January 13, 2022, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York issued an order denying in part honey maker Sioux Honey Association Cooperative’s motion to dismiss a claim against it alleging deceptive business practices, false advertising, and unjust enrichment because the company’s SueBee brand honey was labeled with the words “Pure” or “100% Pure” when the honey contained trace amounts of glyphosate. Scholder v. Sioux Honey Association, No. 2:16-cv-05369. Sioux Honey argued that its “Pure” labeling was not misleading because any glyphosate present in […]
Agricultural Law Weekly Review—Week Ending January 14, 2022
COVID-19: Supreme Court Grants Stay of OSHA Workplace Vaccination Rule 🌾
On January 13, 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court granted applications for a stay of the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) November 5, 2021 COVID-19 Vaccination and Testing Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) (86 FR 61402). National Federation of Independent Business, et al., v. OSHA et al., Nos. 21A244 and 21A247. The stay will be in effect until the cases are finally concluded in the federal courts. The cases were also remanded back to the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals for disposition on […]
Agricultural Law Weekly Review – Week Ending November 26, 2021
Ag-Gag Statutes: Kansas Files for Supreme Court Review of its ‘Ag-Gag’ Law 🌾
On November 17, 2021, Kansas Governor Laura Kelly and Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt filed a petition for writ of certiorari in the U.S. Supreme Court seeking review of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit’s August 2021 decision that: (1) portions of the “Kansas Farm Animal and Field Crop and Research Facilities Protection Act (Act)” (Kan. Stat. Ann. § § 47-1825–47-1828) violate First Amendment free speech protections; and (2) Kansas is prohibited from enforcing § 47-187 (b), (c), and (d) of the […]
Agricultural Law Weekly Review – Week Ending November 19, 2021
COVID-19: Federal Courts Affirm Stay and Consolidate Cases Challenging OSHA’s Vaccination and Testing Emergency Temporary Standard 🌾
On November 12, 2021, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit issued an opinion reaffirming the court’s November 6, 2021 temporary stay of the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) November 5, 2021 COVID-19 Vaccination and Testing Emergency Temporary Standard (86 FR 61402). BST Holdings v. OSHA, No. 21-60845. OSHA’s “Emergency Temporary Standard” webpage now states that, although the agency “remains confident in its authority to protect workers in emergencies, OSHA has […]
Agricultural Law Weekly Review – Week Ending November 12, 2021
Food Policy: Glasgow Climate Change Summit Includes Food Systems Initiatives 🌾
On November 13, 2021, the United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) in Glasgow, Scotland concluded. Among the notable agricultural-related developments was the Glasgow Food and Climate Declaration, a declaration seeking all levels of government entities to become signatories and work in various ways towards, among other things, reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from food systems, in acknowledgment of a United Nations’ finding that food systems account for over one-third of global greenhouse gas emissions, and “the creation of resilient livelihoods for farm and food workers.” […]
Agricultural Law Weekly Review – Week ending November 5, 2021
COVID 19: OSHA Vaccination Mandate Issued and Immediately Stayed by Federal Court 🌾
On November 5, 2021, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) published in the Federal Register, “COVID-19 Vaccination and Testing; Emergency Temporary Standard (86 FR 61402), an interim final rule that consists of an emergency temporary standard (ETS) immediately effective requiring employers of 100 or more employees by December 5, 2021, to “develop, implement, and enforce a mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policy, with an exception for employers that instead adopt a policy requiring employees to either get vaccinated or elect to undergo […]
