Mr. Wyatt and the other fired workers say they never were told of the changed rule."
You have conflicting statements and you cannot give one more validity than the other.
Without proof that the employees were informed of the policy, the employees will prevail in court.
With the exception of the hundreds of other employees who attended the meetings, and could testify to whether guys were there or not.
Do you truly believe that a company that employs over 50,000 employees doesn't have its "t's" crossed and its "i's" dotted when it comes to legal matters?
All the company has to show is that it held mandatory meetings outlining the new policies, sent memos to all its employees etc. They don't have to show that a particular employee had actual knowledge of the new rules, they only need to show that they took reasonable steps to inform their employees of such rules.