Six former machine technicians, mechanics and stock handlers have sued Winnebago Industries, alleging age and disability discrimination and retaliation against them at the company’s Forest City, Iowa, plant.
This story by Tyler Jett originally appeared in the Des Moines Register.
The plaintiffs were among the 31 employees laid off in July 2018. In a district court complaint filed Oct. 4 in Winnebago County, they said maintenance manager John Breuklander and human resources manager Gary McCarthy did not give them a reason for their firings. They said the plant had open positions at the time, and that younger workers took over their responsibilities after they were fired.
At the time of the mass layoffs, a company spokesman told the Associated Press that Winnebago executives eliminated the positions to meet production demands and the future needs of the business. Seven months later, the company announced it would hire an additional 175 workers as it moved production for its Class A diesel motor homes from Oregon to Forest City.
Company spokesman Sam Jefson declined to comment Tuesday.
James Clark, a mechanic, said he had missed work after undergoing surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his right knee. When he returned, he said, he received a “mediocre” performance review and was fired a few weeks later.
Barb Garza, a stock worker, said her physician told her she needed to change jobs because she has COPD. She said the glue spray near where she worked could make the symptoms of the disease worse. When the company laid her off in July, she said, McCarthy told her they didn’t have a place to put her.
Before her firing, she said, she had filed a complaint through a whistleblower phone line, alleging that plant managers left early without clocking out and received “lots of compensation time.”
