U.S. settles claims against poultry producers over worker treatment

(Reuters) - Three of the largest U.S. poultry processors have agreed to settle charges by the U.S. Department of Justice over their alleged longstanding effort to share information about workers in order to drive down compensation.A proposed consent decree with Cargill, Sanderson Farms and Wayne Farms calls for those companies to pay more than $84 million in restitution to workers harmed by the information sharing.

The settlement was filed on Monday with the federal court in Maryland.

(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Mark Porter)