Perdue Farms and JBS, the nation's largest meat processors, will be fined a total of $8 million after the Department of Labor found that the companies had long relied on immigrant children working in their slaughterhouses. You will have to pay
The agreements announced this week are part of a flurry of child labor settlements in the final days of the Biden administration, which has cracked down on child labor.
It's rare for major brands to face federal scrutiny regarding child labor. Many food processing and manufacturing companies outsource cleaning and other tasks to third-party staffing companies, which technically hire the workers and protect the companies from any violations.
Federal investigators discovered the children worked at a Purdue plant on Virginia's Eastern Shore in 2020. The children were employed by temporary employment agencies, working late into the night and performing dangerous work using electric knives and hot-sealing tools.
Perdue agreed to pay $4 million in restitution to groups including Kids in Need of Defense, a national nonprofit that provides legal representation to children and young immigrants arriving alone. did. Perdue, one of the nation's largest chicken processors, will also pay a $150,000 civil penalty.
Perdue said in a statement that he strongly opposes being held accountable for child labor violations, but that he wants to avoid a lengthy dispute with the Department of Labor.
Investigators at JBS, the world's largest meat processor, found children as young as 13 were working night cleaning shifts at its slaughterhouses in Colorado, Minnesota, Nebraska and other states. In response, they agreed to pay $4 million. Most of the children were from Central America and were employed through an outside sanitation company. They worked with powerful chemicals, sometimes showing up to school with burns, and washing dangerous tools such as headsplitters.
The funds will be managed by KIND and will be used for children's scholarships, scholarships, English classes, vocational training, etc., the company said.
JBS said in a statement that it will no longer use staffing agencies to fill sanitation shifts and hopes the funds will “provide a valuable resource” to children in need.
The Department of Labor announced Thursday that it has fined sanitation company QSI $400,000 for hiring children to clean slaughterhouses in eight states, including a Tyson Foods plant in Virginia. A separate child labor investigation against Tyson is still ongoing. The company did not respond to requests for comment.
Federal law prohibits minors from working in slaughterhouses due to the high risk of injury. But in recent years, the New York Times has reported in a series of articles that thousands of Mexican and Central American children have come to the United States alone, ending up in demanding jobs in many industries.
In response to the Times report, the White House announced in early 2023 that it would focus on rooting out violations and holding companies accountable, even when they use outside contractors. Last year, federal investigators found more than 4,000 children working in violation of child labor laws.
Federal child labor penalties remain capped at $15,000, despite efforts to increase them.
Labor Department officials said they hope the settlement sends a lasting message to companies that use staffing agencies.
“We have seen far too many companies and employers frequently retain their workforce by any means necessary,” said Seema Nanda, the ministry's chief legal officer. “Our research has focused on the fact that we cannot turn a blind eye to exploitation in order to get our jobs done.”
Earlier this month, Hearthside Food Solutions, which manufactures and packages food for some of the nation's best-known brands, agreed to pay $4.5 million to settle a child labor investigation with the Illinois Department of Labor and Attorney General. .
The state investigation was launched after The Times found immigrant children working all night around dangerous machines selling household items such as Cheerios and Chewy bars.
Up to half of the donations will go to children who worked at the Hearthside factory when they were under 16. On Thursday, the company denied any liability or wrongdoing and announced in a statement that it had severed ties with the staffing agency that employed the children. .
Hearthside filed for bankruptcy in November.
