A lawsuit filed last month against JBS Foods in Greeley alleges regular workplace safety violations, religious and ethnic discrimination, wrongful termination and retaliation. The Brazilian-based company is the largest meatpacking company in the world and its U.S. headquarters is located in Greeley.
The latest lawsuit was filed by Salima Jandali, a Muslim woman and Moroccan immigrant, who worked in the Greeley facility from 2019 to 2024. Jandali alleges that her supervisor Hannah Romero frequently used racial, ethnic, and religious slurs in reference to Jandali. As a safety trainer, Jandali alleges her supervisors pressured her to illegally falsify safety reports.
The court filing also alleges JBS supervisors failed to provide adequate language support for other immigrants who could not understand English. “Workers suffered serious injuries, including losing fingers and limbs due to inadequate safety training, however JBS continually prioritized production over worker safety,” according to the lawsuit brief.
Romero became Jandali’s supervisor in 2023 and allegedly proceeded to "belittle" her with phrases like “stupid Muslim” and “stupid Arab." She allegedly threw away Jandali’s safety equipment and laughed when she was unable to find it. When Jandali said she couldn’t go to the floor without safety equipment, Romero allegedly told Jandali to clean instead using toxic chemicals without any safety equipment.
Two other immigrant safety trainers were allegedly harassed by Romero prompting the official filing of a grievance on December 18, 2023, a week after Jandali filed for an FMLA leave to care for her father who recently suffered heart failure. Human Resources Manager Daniel Bacerra Romero approved the request on December 21 and Jandali began her leave on December 26 and was approved to be on leave until March 18, 2024.
Romero terminated Jandali’s employment on January 3 and allegedly falsely claimed Jandali did not submit the FMLA paperwork. She was reinstated on January 8 after the union intervened on her behalf. Jandali was locked out of the computer system and her email upon returning. After months of alleged retaliation and another leave request due to the ongoing harassment, Jandali was threatened with termination. She resigned in September 2024.
JBS Foods has previously paid settlements for discrimination and for violating child labor laws. In addition, the company has been accused of human trafficking immigrants to Greeley to work in the facility. JBS has denied the human trafficking accusations, stating that they investigated the employee and found no evidence of wrongdoing. He was relocated to another facility but continued to be employed by JBS Foods.
