JBS, the largest meat company in the world, exploited over 1,000 Haitian workers recruited under false pretenses for its Greeley, Colorado plant to boost corporate profits. Starting in late 2023, JBS began recruiting Haitians via TikTok, promising employment without English language requirements and free housing while they got set up in Greeley. But when these recruits arrived, they were forced to stay in one-bedroom motel rooms shared with up to eleven other people, sleeping on dirty floors and sometimes without adequate heat in winter.
Once hired, Haitians at JBS were subjected to more dangerous and degrading conditions than their non-Haitian co-workers. JBS falsified records of safety tests to get Haitians working as fast as possible, even though workers only got training in languages they didn’t understand. Then, JBS assigned most of the Haitian workers to the late shift and then cranked up the speed of the production line to unprecedented levels. These workers experienced serious injuries and were denied bathroom breaks, causing them to soil themselves or dangerously limit their food and water intake.
FarmSTAND, Nichols Kaster, and Towards Justice represent the plaintiffs in this class action suit. In addition to the discrimination claims, the suit alleges that JBS violated Colorado’s laws governing wages, and that its actions toward the plaintiffs represent unjust enrichment and civil theft, among other claims.
JBS filed a motion to strike portions of our complaint and a motion to dismiss so outlandish that the court ordered JBS’s lawyers to show cause as to why they should not face sanctions for arguing that JBS was not the plaintiffs’ employer, despite evidence to the contrary. In June 2026, the court denied both of JBS’ motions. The case will now continue into the discovery phase.