A federal judge in Iowa ordered a company to pay $1.8 million to 31 mentally disabled employees who gutted turkeys at a West Liberty processing plant for $65 a month - 41 cents an hour - for more than 20 years.   U.S. District Judge Harold Vietor issued the partial summary judgment against Hill Country Farms dba Henry's Turkey Service and owner Kenneth Henry in the Davenport-based District Court.

Vietor found that Henry's, based in Goldthwaite, Texas, willfully violated federal minimum wage and overtime laws and is liable for unpaid wages and liquidated damages.  He ordered payment of $880,777 in back wages, and an equal amount in liquidated damages.  "Working on a poultry processing line is a particularly difficult and dangerous job," Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis said in a statement. "Henry's Turkey Service exploited vulnerable employees who have a right to, and deserve, every penny that they earned."  Most of the workers, whom Henry's allegedly referred to as "the boys," lived in a 100-year-old dilapidated bunkhouse in Atalissa that resembled a barracks, with boarded-up windows and only space heaters for warmth.  Henry, a labor broker, brought the men from their homes in Texas to the West Liberty Foods plant 20 years ago. (click on link to read full story)