Employee sues Central Valley meatpacking company over COVID-19 exposure

A Hanford meat packing company is now subject of a lawsuit over the handling of exposure to the novel coronavirus. The suit says Central Valley Meat out of Hanford knew its workers had been exposed to the virus. Maria Ornelas, who worked at the company on the floor of the plant, says the company knew she and roughly 200 other individuals had been infected or exposed. When Ornelas needed to stay home to recover, she claims the company took away bonuses and instituted incentive pay tog o to work. The suit says the company did not take steps to mitigate the spread and continued to operate even after being aware of more than nine cases at the time.