Gemstone Foods & Sheffield Schools: Two Sketchy Institutions?

Gemstone Foods is being lauded as they have announced the purchase and opening the old Hillshore Farms plant for a rendering facility. The Mayor of Florence and others have spoken highly of this project to replace Hillshire Farms that previously operated at the same location.

However, in the quest for public officials to burnish their resumes with economic development they have failed to totally examine Gemstone's background. Gemstone has been operating in AL since 2013.

Gemstone Foods was found to owe 595 employees more than $140,000 in back wages and damages after the U.S. Department of Labor investigation found overtime violations at the chicken-cutting company’s two Decatur facilities.

In June 2017, the state department of labor fined Gemstone $64,200 for violations related to a dozen teen workers at its McEntire Lane facility. The youngest was 13.

The teens’ documentation showed large discrepancies in age, “so egregious that a layperson could identify these documents were forged,” according to an Alabama Department of Labor report.

Violations:

1) Employees were paid two different rates for hours worked. The employer did not use the weighted average in calculating overtime for employees who earned multiple rates of pay in an overtime workweek.

2) Gemstone claimed an overtime exemption for an employee who was determined to be non-exempt.

3) Gemstone employed minors under the age of 18, in violation of child labor regulations. There were multiple violations related to a 13-year-old worker and three 15-year-olds.

Besides $140,122 in back wages and damages, Gemstone had civil penalties worth $7,865.

Gemstone stated the overtime calculation error has been addressed, and employees were paid $70,061.40 in back wages and $70,061.40 in damages.

The Alabama Department of Labor’s investigation found “occurrences of identity concealment” related to the teens in employee files.

The investigation found one employee file had a doctor’s excuse with the child’s legal name, but a supervisor had written his work name on the back and signed so that it would be put in the correct file.

Gemstone CEO and President Heath Loyd has said that Gemstone will invest over $11 million and has committed to hiring 296 employees. The company is optimistic about possibly rehiring some of the previous workforce from Hillshire and working with the Shoals community to staff the plant. The company will pay competitive and comparable wages to similar employers in the area and slightly higher in terms of poultry processing compensation. Gemstone wants to become a contributing member of the community and has partnered with the City of Florence and SEDA for support.

Southern Son

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And from a reader:

A couple of years ago, right after Keith Lankford rode into town, HPBC pastor Brett Pittman published a video on YouTube in which he stated that he had met with “educational leaders” in Sheffield, and they were beginning a partnership that would allow members of HPBC to provide tutoring services to the underprivileged children of Sheffield. Folks in Sheffield went nuts in outrage, and nothing ever came of it. Of course, Lankford denied having any knowledge of Pittman’s claims of meeting with Sheffield “educational leaders”. 

This was also approximately the same time that Brian Lindsey sold the section 8 apartments connecting to Sheffield’s Threadgill Primary School that he had owned for several years. I believe Sheffield police had to respond to those apartments a few times due to some residents at that time being engaged in drug activity. Since then Lankford highjacked the local churches’ Thanksgiving offering and started STIC, Students Tutored in Churches. 

As for Sheffield’s board of education, not a single member has a child or grandchild who attends a Sheffield school. Steve Hargrove has already purchased land in Muscle Shoals in preparation for moving out of Sheffield after he retires.

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Note: We're always happy to publish readers' opinions on issues. Sometimes we're totally unfamiliar with the issues; other times we have a rudimentary knowledge of the situation and appreciate the viewpoints of others. We attempt to give the Shoals a voice. Rebuttals are always welcome.