Food industry continues to rely on child labor

Ever since federal penalties totaling $1.5 million were imposed late last year on 13 meat plants contracting in eight states with Packers Sanitation Services Inc. for employing children in critical food safety jobs, the story has not gone away. The food industry’s penchant for child labor remains to be broken, and another year is ending with the industry continuing to pile up violations.

Child labor violations continue to occur in the food industry even though the influential group The Meat Institute has promoted “best practices” developed to help prevent child labor, given the record influx of undocumented minors occurring in tandem with the increasing prevalence and sophistication of identity theft and fraud.

Many of the children working in meat plants are tasked with doing food safety jobs such as cleaning dangerous equipment.

The latest violations involve 11 children working at a Sioux City Pork Processing plant. Qvest LLC must pay $171,000 in federally-imposed fines. A second contractor at Seaboard Triumph Foods LLC in Sioux City is the second one that employed children to do dangerous work in Iowa City.

The U.S. Department of Labor has found the second sanitation contractor at the Seaboard Triumph Foods LLC facility that employed children to perform dangerous work during overnight shifts at its Sioux City pork processing plant.

Under a consent order and judgment approved by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Iowa on Nov. 27, 2024, Qvest LLC must pay $171,919 in child labor civil money penalties, hire a third party to review and implement company policies to prevent the employment of children in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act and establish a process for reporting concerns about the illegal employment of children. 

The judgment follows an investigation by the department’s Wage and Hour Division, which found that the Guymon, OK, sanitation contractor employed 11 children to use corrosive cleaners to clean head splitters, jaw pullers, bandsaws, neck clippers, and other equipment at the Seaboard Triumph Foods facility from at least September 2019 through September 2023.  

Seaboard Triumph Foods contracted Fayette Janitorial Service LLC in September 2023 for sanitation work at its facility. In May 2024, the department entered into a consent order and judgment with Fayette after division investigators found the Somerville, TN, contractor employed nine children illegally at the Sioux City pork processing facility. After Fayette took over the plant’s sanitation services contract, Fayette rehired some of the children previously employed by Qvest. 

Federal law forbids children under the age of 18 from being employed in dangerous jobs common in meat and poultry slaughtering, processing, rendering, and packing operations.

“The U.S. Department of Labor is determined to end the illegal employment of children in our nation’s workplaces,” said Regional Solicitor Christine Z. Heri. “We are committed to using all strategies to stop and prevent unlawful child labor and holding all employers legally responsible for their actions. Children should never be hired to perform dangerous and prohibited tasks.”

In addition to the payment of penalties for the child labor violations, the consent order and judgment require Qvest to do the following: 

• Hire a third-party consultant or compliance specialist with knowledge and experience in complying with the FLSA’s child labor provisions within 90 days. 
• Direct the compliance monitor to review company policies immediately, provide annual training at all company facilities, and monitor and audit Qvest’s compliance for at least three years. 
• Provide training and materials on child labor compliance in languages understood by employees. 
• Maintain accurate records of all employees, including date of birth and work tasks assigned.
• Establish a toll-free hotline for guidance and to anonymously report child labor compliance concerns.
• Within 60 days, ensure the company does not employ workers under 18 in jobs prohibited by the FLSA.
• Submit an initial compliance report and annual reports for three years to the department verifying compliance with child labor laws. 

“These findings illustrate Seaboard Triumph Foods’ history of children working illegally in their Sioux City facility since at least September 2019. Despite changing sanitation contractors, children continued to work in dangerous occupations at this facility,” said Wage and Hour Midwest Regional Administrator Michael Lazzeri. 

In fiscal year 2024, the division concluded 736 investigations uncovering child labor violations that affected 4,030 children. It assessed employers over $15.1 million in penalties for violating federal child labor laws, an 89 percent increase since 2023.

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Source: https://www.foodsafetynews.com/2024/12/food-industry-continues-to-rely-on-child-labor/