Anyone who worked at a beef or pork processing plant run by a named defendant between Jan. 1, 2000, and Feb. 27, 2024, sits inside a class covered by $202.7 million in wage-suppression settlements. The paperwork differs by mailbox: some workers already hold a notice printed with a dollar amount, and others hold nothing at all. The last day for the second group to act is Feb. 4, 2027.
Four dates on the wage settlement notice: the August cutoff, the October hearing, the Feb. 4, 2027 deadline and the payout date are easy to confuse, and The Settlement & Refund Recovery System includes the four-date rule for reading a settlement notice.
Sort a notice’s four dates before the Feb. 4, 2027 deadline →
Who is inside the class, and where the line falls
The case is Brown v. JBS USA Food Co., No. 1:22-cv-02946, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado. Its plaintiffs say that beef and pork processors agreed with each other to keep plant wages low. Tyson, JBS and Cargill are the best-known names among the settling companies, and the settlement website’s own headline wording sets the eligibility test: a worker at a United States beef or pork processing plant between Jan. 1, 2000, and Feb. 27, 2024.
That test has a second layer. Class counsel’s announcement describes a main class covering the full period from 2000 to early 2024, and a smaller subclass whose period begins on Jan. 1, 2014 and runs to the same February 2024 end date. Nine defendants settled into the main class for $191.45 million, and two more settled into the subclass for $11.25 million, which is how the two figures add up to $202.7 million.
A worker only needs to have been employed at a defendant’s plant. Job title does not appear in the eligibility wording, which rests on the employer, the plant type and the dates alone.
A notice with a compensation amount means no form is required
Class counsel’s announcement of the settlements states the rule in one sentence: individuals who received a notice with a compensation amount do not need to do anything to get money, which leaves the action burden with workers who never received one.
The same announcement adds an optional step for that group. A worker with a notice can still update contact, employment and earnings information on the settlement website by Feb. 4, 2027. For someone who has moved since the records were pulled, or whose notice listed the wrong plant, the update is the difference between a correct mailing address and a lost payment.
A worker whose notice marked earnings information as incomplete or unavailable is in a different position. The announcement says earnings documentation for that group must be submitted through the website by the same February date before a payment can be made.
No notice at all: the participation form
Workers who never received a notice cannot rely on the automatic rule. The announcement directs them to complete a Participation Form online or by mail to the settlement administrator, A.B. Data, Ltd., at P.O. Box 173052, Milwaukee, WI 53217. The settlement line is 1-877-411-4775, and the website is BeefPorkWages.com.
A summary at Open Class Actions reports that workers without notices must attach a photo ID or a copy of a paystub with the form. That detail comes from the aggregator rather than the court notice, so a worker should read the form’s own instructions for the exact documents it accepts.
A worker who has no notice is not automatically outside the class. The form exists for exactly that gap, and the same period-and-employer test decides who qualifies to file it.
Claims are open now, but final approval is still ahead
The wording of the deadline matters. Cohen Milstein, one of the three firms serving as class counsel, reports on its case page that the settlements were preliminarily approved as of Oct. 16, 2025, and that the final approval hearing is set for Oct. 2, 2026. The case is assigned to U.S. District Judge Philip A. Brimmer.
Preliminary approval is what allows notice to go out and the participation window to run, so the Feb. 4, 2027 date is an open, future deadline today rather than one waiting on a later ruling. The deadline to opt out or object was Aug. 10, 2026, and it has already passed. The Oct. 2 hearing in Denver is when the court decides whether to grant final approval, and no participation date in the sources depends on that decision.
Nothing in these documents guarantees final approval, and the terms described here are the ones in force as of this reading.
Why no per-worker figure exists yet
Open Class Actions reports that, after fees, costs and administration expenses, what remains is divided proportionally by each worker’s time and earnings in the class period. Distribution has not started, and the site says payments begin only after court approval and the resolution of any appeals.
Under that formula, time on the job and earnings drive the size of a share, and any household figure stays unknown until the administrator publishes one. Neither the announcement nor the settlement site offers an estimate per worker.
The settlements do not end the case. Class counsel lists Agri Stats, Greater Omaha Packing, Smithfield Foods and Smithfield Packaged Meats as defendants still litigating, so the workers who fit only their plants are not covered by this $202.7 million.
Four dates on one notice, and only one of them is a worker’s deadline
The materials around this settlement carry four separate dates. The class period ends on Feb. 27, 2024. The opt-out and objection cutoff of Aug. 10, 2026 has passed. The final approval hearing falls on Oct. 2, 2026. The participation and update deadline is Feb. 4, 2027. A worker skimming the notice can easily read the October hearing as the date to act, or read the closed August cutoff as proof that the window is over, and neither reading is correct.
A second difficulty is timing after the deadline. Payment does not follow filing quickly: the administrator’s site says distribution comes after court approval and any appeals, which can leave a worker who filed in October waiting well past the February date. Workers who move in the meantime need the administrator to hold a current address.
Filing a participation form or updating information directly with the settlement administrator is free and needs no paid help, and the administrator’s own site and phone line are the official route. The settlement’s own record is the controlling source: the class counsel announcement dated March 19, 2026 lists the Feb. 4, 2027 deadline and the Oct. 2, 2026 hearing.
A paid subscription that lists open settlements and watches their dates
MoneyPilot is a paid subscription service that lists open class-action settlements and shows which ones may match a member. It files claim forms for members and tracks deadlines and payout status. For a worker who held jobs at several plants, or who wants a running list of other open settlements, that tracking is the service’s role.
See which open settlements MoneyPilot lists → We may earn a commission if you buy through this link.
This article was drafted with AI assistance and checked against the class counsel announcement and settlement records cited above.
