Monsanto's Landmark Roundup Settlement — What It Means for Workers and Their Families - $7.25 Billion Dollars
After years of litigation and mounting scientific evidence linking glyphosate — the active ingredient in Monsanto's Roundup herbicide — to non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and other serious cancers, Monsanto has announced a class settlement agreement to resolve current and future claims. This landmark deal represents one of the largest mass-tort settlements in history and offers critical relief to workers and families who have suffered the devastating consequences of Roundup exposure.
How Workers Were Exposed
Roundup is one of the most widely used herbicides worldwide. For decades, it was marketed as safe and biodegradable — but workers across countless industries were regularly drenched in it, often without proper protective equipment or meaningful warning.
Agricultural workers faced perhaps the highest exposure risk. Farmhands, crop dusters, vineyard laborers, and greenhouse workers routinely applied Roundup in massive quantities, sometimes daily, across growing seasons spanning years or even decades. In many cases, workers mixed concentrated solutions by hand, inhaled spray drift, and worked in fields still wet with chemical residue.
Landscapers and groundskeepers — including those maintaining parks, golf courses, school grounds, highway medians, and corporate campuses — used Roundup as a standard weed-control tool. Many applied it weekly without respirators, gloves, or protective suits.
Nursery and garden center employees consistently handled and sold Roundup products, often in enclosed spaces with limited ventilation.
Municipal and utility workers used Roundup for vegetation management along roadsides, railroads, power lines, and waterways — environments where application was heavy and protective measures minimal.
Home and commercial pest control operators also encountered glyphosate-based products as a routine part of their work.
What made the exposure particularly insidious was the disease's latency. Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma can take years — sometimes over a decade — to develop after initial chemical exposure. Many workers were unaware that their diagnosis was linked to a product they'd used routinely on the job.
What the Settlement Provides
The Roundup class settlement is designed to compensate those who have been diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma and other specified conditions following exposure to glyphosate. Key components of the settlement include:
- Financial compensation for diagnosed individuals and their surviving family members
- A claims process that allows future claimants — those not yet diagnosed — to participate as conditions develop
- A science panel established to evaluate future claims and provide an ongoing, evidence-based framework for determining eligibility
- Resolution of both current and future claims, offering long-term certainty for affected workers who may still be years away from a diagnosis
This is not just money — it is validation. For years, Monsanto disputed the science. This settlement acknowledges the harm done.
The Intersection with Workers' Compensation
For many injured workers, the Roundup settlement does not stand alone — it exists alongside potential workers' compensation claims. Understanding how these two forms of recovery interact is critical.
Workers' compensation provides no-fault coverage for employees injured on the job. If a worker was exposed to Roundup in the course and scope of employment and subsequently developed cancer, they may be entitled to:
- Medical benefits, including treatment for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and related conditions
- Temporary or permanent disability benefits are based on the inability to work
- Death benefits for surviving spouses and dependents if the worker passes away
Importantly, workers' compensation and the Roundup class settlement are not mutually exclusive. A worker may pursue both, though workers' compensation carriers may assert a lien against any third-party settlement recovery. An experienced attorney can help navigate these overlapping systems to maximize total recovery.
The combination of a workers' comp claim and a share of the Roundup settlement can mean the difference between financial devastation and genuine stability for a family already coping with serious illness.
What Workers and Families Should Do Now
If you or a loved one worked in agriculture, landscaping, groundskeeping, or any occupation involving regular Roundup use and has been diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma or a related condition, time matters.
- Document exposure history — gather employment records, pay stubs, job descriptions, and any evidence of Roundup use on the job
- Obtain medical records linking your diagnosis to your timeline
- Consult a workers' compensation attorney experienced in occupational disease claims
- Explore the class settlement claims process with a toxic tort or mass tort attorney
Workers gave years of their lives to jobs that required them to handle dangerous chemicals — often without knowing the true risk. This settlement is a step toward accountability. Make sure you are positioned to benefit from it.
*Jon L. Gelman of Wayne, NJ, is the author of NJ Workers' Compensation Law (West-Thomson-Reuters) and co-author of the national treatise Modern Workers' Compensation Law (West-Thomson-Reuters).
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