Reporter Dan Barry paints a Dickensian picture of the story of a few dozen men with intellectual men with intellectual disabilities who were kept as low-paid laborers in an old Iowa school house for 30 years while they worked at a turkey plant. Once the mens’ stories were brought to light, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission sued Henry’s Turkey Service—casting a harsh spotlight on the provision of the Fair Labor Standards Act that allows employers to pay subminimum wages to employees with disabilities. The online component of the story includes photos, images and a documentary, The Men of Atalissa.
Additionally, The Des Moines Register, which helped break the story in 2009, continues to report the most recent developments in the case.