ProPublica questions for Tyson Foods
Describe for me Tyson’s philosophy when it comes to workplace
injuries and workers’ compensation?
Tyson’s workers’ comp program is fairly unique in not only self-insuring
but also self-administering its claims. In addition, in many states, it also
has its own in-house managed care program. Why does Tyson operate
this way? How does it benefit the company and how does it benefit the
employee?
How many states does Tyson have employees in? (Tyson’s website
seems to indicate 25.) How many states does Tyson self-insure in? How
many states does Tyson self-administer in? How many states does
Tyson have its own managed care program in?
Todd Beresford said in his deposition in the Christopher Godfrey case in
Iowa that Tyson’s workers’ comp program costs about $105 million a
year (before the Hillshire acquisition). I’m assuming this is accurate,
but wanted to run it by you.
What was Tyson’s role in pushing for the 1993 reform act in Arkansas?
In Tyson’s view, what were some of the problems Arkansas was facing
and how did the bill try to solve them?
Some say that the act’s addition of major cause and objective medical
findings made it harder for injured workers to prove carpal tunnel and
other similar upper extremity cumulative trauma claims, which are
common in poultry plants. For example, one of the negotiators told me,
“That was really the thing that was costing Tyson’s and that’s why
Tyson got so involved back then because they were having so much
trouble with carpal tunnel at the time.” What is your response to that?
The Wall Street Journal reported in 1994 that Tyson pushed to get Texas
to allow self-insured companies to also self-administer, while dangling
out the promise to build a $60 million processing plant in East Texas.
Please provide any context I should have for this. Did Texas ever
change its law allowing self-insured companies to self-administer? Did
Tyson ever build it plant? (It didn’t look like it to me.)
How would you describe Tyson’s role in spreading reforms to other
states?
In the mid-1990s, Tyson created a managed-care subsidiary called
National Comp Care. Some people I’ve talked to have referred to it as

 TyNet. But I believe this is the TPA subsidiary. Can you clear this up? Do
either National Comp Care or TyNet still exist in any form?
Why did Tyson hire Lynn Tatum?
In 1995-96, Tyson and Tatum pushed for a rule that would have made
contracting with a managed-care program mandatory for employers.
Some critics described this as Tyson trying to profit from a law it helped
craft. What is your response to that?
In 1997, Tyson employee and former Walmart employee Max Koonce
became a workers’ comp administrative law judge and then appeals
court judge. What role did Tyson have in pushing or supporting his
nomination for either post?
In the late 1990s and early 2000s, several Arkansas administrative law
judges said they were fired after pressure from self-insured employers
like Walmart and Tyson. The reasons cited were either not being
business-friendly enough or eroding the 1993 Arkansas reforms. One
judge Eileen Harrison even sued and received a settlement from the
commission. What role did Tyson play?
Why did Tyson provide early financial support for Lt. Gov. (now Gov.)
Mary Fallin’s campaign for workers’ comp reform in Oklahoma?
What role has Tyson played in Oklahoma’s various reforms over the
years? One person involved in the reforms told me that while Tyson
didn’t play a direct role in writing bills until 2013, “Tyson’s fingerprint
has been heavy on Oklahoma workers’ comp.” How do you respond to
this?
What role did Tyson play in advising or consulting on the 2012-13
reforms in Oklahoma? I’m told from several people that Tatum was on
one of the informal advisory group that the chamber and the senate
pro tem set up, which helped draft the change from a court-based
system to an administrative system.
What role did Tyson play in the 2012 reforms in Mississippi? I’m told by
legislators that the House speaker’s law firm Wells Marble, which
represents Tyson, drafted the final version of the bill and that someone
from Tyson was brought in to help.
What role did Tyson have in convincing lawmakers in poultry producing
areas to vote for the bill?

 Tyson’s lobbying expenditure report from the 1st quarter of 2012, when
the Mississippi bill was being debated, shows dozens of meals with key
legislators. In addition, Tyson hosted a celebratory dinner after the bill
was passed. Why? Please provide any context I should have for this.
In Texas, what role did Tyson play in the legislative provision that
allowed post-injury waivers as long as there was a 10-day cooling
period and a visit with a non-ER doctor?
One of the worker stories we’re highlighting is that of Billy Shawn
Walkup, who hurt his back at the Tyson plant in Vernon, Texas. Walkup
said that even with the 10-day waiting period, he still felt pressured to
sign the waiver because of his need for medical care and wages to
support his wife and 2-year-old son. In addition, he felt that 10 days
wasn’t enough time to realize the full scope of his injury. Can you
respond to these points and, in general, whether the 10-day period is
enough? Is it fair? Why/why not?
On Feb. 27, 2013, Tyson’s chosen doctor, Dr. Arakal at the Texas Back
Institute, noted that Walkup had multiple disc protrusions and resulting
numbness/tingling in his legs and recommended a 3-4 hour workday
with a number of restrictions. A little over a week later, Tyson sent
Walkup to an IME, who said there was no indication of a significant
back injury, merely a strain, and that no further medical care was
necessary. At this point, Tyson terminated his benefits. Can you explain
the contradictions between Tyson’s chosen treating doctor and the IME
and why Tyson decided to go with the IME’s opinion?
Why did Tyson decide to become one of the first companies to test the
Hoffman Plastics legal theory that undocumented immigrants cannot
be compensated for lost earning capacity from a workplace injury
(Tyson v. Guzman)?
Tyson made this challenge while facing federal indictment in the
immigrant smuggling case. How do you respond to the allegation that
Tyson hires immigrants (undocumented or legal) because they are less
likely to know their rights, complain or file workers’ comp claims?
Why did Tyson lobby to change the apportionment law in Iowa?
Why did Tyson hold a gubernatorial campaign event for Terry Branstad
at its headquarters in South Dakota?
Why did Tyson write a 14-page list of talking points for Gov. Terry
Branstad to help him defend his decision to cut the workers’ comp

 commissioner Christopher Godfrey’s salary in attempt to get him to
resign?
Why was Tyson opposed to Godfrey as Iowa workers’ comp
commissioner?
Why did Tyson drop out of the Iowa Association of Business and
Industries and form the Iowa Self Insurers Association?
Why is the Iowa Self Insurers Association in South Dakota?
Describe for me Tyson’s concerns about the case of Shawn Durkop v.
Tyson, involving a worker who was injured when she slipped on ice
while purchasing a Tyson uniform. If Tyson remained concerned enough
to complain to the governor, why didn’t it appeal?
According to the most recent Tyson sustainability report that I have,
Tyson’s DART rate has fallen from 11.28 injuries and illnesses per 100
workers in FY05 to 6.62 in 2013, the total recordable case rate has
fallen from 16.9 in 2002 to 9.57 in 2013, and the lost time incident rate
has fallen from 1.86 to 2002 to 1.02 in 2013. I’d like to be able to show
this decline over a longer period of time, because I understand there
were significant improvements made in the 1990s. I’d also like to get
more recent data. What’s available? Ideally, we could show the decline
in DART rate from 1990 to 2014.
To what do you attribute Tyson’s decline in injury rate?
Several groups have questioned the poultry industry’s decline in injury
rates and the decline in cumulative trauma claims. Notably, NIOSH has
continued to find such symptoms among poultry workers, sometimes
as high as 76% having abnormal never conduction test results and
34% with evidence of carpal tunnel. Duke epidemiologist Hester
Lipscomb studied Perdue plants in North Carolina in 1990 and 2007
and noted the prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders “looks exactly
the way it looked 15 years ago.” In addition, earlier this year, Lipscomb
released a study of Washington State carpenters that found that there
had been no change in the prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders
involving the upper extremities or knees from 1989 to 2008. Claims
had just shifted from workers’ comp to the union’s private health
insurance. How do you respond to these questions that carpal tunnel
and similar type injuries haven’t actually declined? Has Tyson
experienced a shift of carpal tunnel and similar cases from workers’
comp to health insurance?
How do you respond to the recent safety concerns raised by Oxfam?

 How do you respond to Oxfam’s and other reports that the use of
nurse’s stations and on-site infirmaries serves as a barrier to workers
seeing a doctor and getting the appropriate medical care they need?
Why is workers’ comp so important to Tyson?