Iowa jury awards $240 million to mentally disabled workers in turkey plant

(Reuters) – A jury on Wednesday awarded $240 million to 32 mentally disabled workers at an Iowa turkey-processing plant to compensate for what government attorneys described as abuse by the Texas company that employed and housed them. A federal jury in Davenport found that Hill Country Farms, doing business as Henry’s Turkey Service, of Goldthwaite, Texas, had created an unlawful hostile environment for the men and discriminated against them on the basis of their disability. Jurors awarded them $7.5 million each, following a week-long trial, according to court documents. …