Current:Home > NewsA US company is accused of illegally hiring children to clean meat processing plants -FinanceAcademy
A US company is accused of illegally hiring children to clean meat processing plants
View
Date:2025-04-17 17:40:38
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — U.S. authorities have accused another sanitation company of illegally hiring at least two dozen children to clean dangerous meat processing facilities, the latest example of the illegal child labor that officials say is increasingly common.
The Labor Department asked a federal judge for an injunction to halt the employment of minors by Tennessee-based Fayette Janitorial Service LLC, saying it believes at least four children were still working at one Iowa slaughterhouse as of Dec. 12.
U.S. law prohibits companies from employing people younger than 18 to work in meat processing plants because of the hazards involved. The Labor Department alleges that Fayette has used underage workers in hazardous conditions where animals are killed and rendered. The agency says children sanitize dangerous equipment, including head splitters, jaw pullers and meat bandsaws.
The department’s legal filing details the severe injuries one 14-year-old sustained while cleaning the drumstick packing line belt at a plant in Virginia. Records show Fayette learned the worker was underage after the child was injured and continued to employ the minor anyway, according to an investigator.
The Associated Press left phone and email messages seeking comment from Fayette.
The latest findings add to a growing list of violations, including the fatal mangling of a 16-year-old working at a Mississippi poultry plant, the death of a 16-year-old after an accident at a sawmill in Wisconsin, and last year’s report of more than 100 children illegally employed by Packers Sanitation Services Inc., or PSSI, across 13 meatpacking plants. PSSI paid over $1.5 million in civil penalties.
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack sent a letter to the 18 largest meat and poultry producers last year to highlight the issue as part of the administration’s effort to crack down on child labor violations more broadly. The Labor Department’s latest statistics indicate the number of children being employed illegally in the U.S. has increased 88% since 2019.
The cleaning company works in about 30 states and employs more than 600 workers, according to the department, and the investigation is ongoing. The initial findings identified 15 underage Fayette employees at a Perdue Farms plant in Accomac, Virginia, and at least nine at Seaboard Triumph Foods in Sioux City, Iowa.
A spokesperson for Perdue Farms said in an email that the company terminated its contract with Fayette before the filing but declined to specify further. A request for comment was left with Seaboard Triumph Foods.
veryGood! (76)
Related
- Skins Game to make return to Thanksgiving week with a modern look
- Legendary football coach Knute Rockne receives homecoming, reburied on Notre Dame campus
- What does conditioner do? Here’s how to attain soft, silky hair.
- Las Vegas Raiders signing ex-Dallas Cowboys WR Michael Gallup
- Former Syrian official arrested in California who oversaw prison charged with torture
- Nick Viall's Wife Natalie Joy Fires Back at Postpartum Body Shamers After Her Wedding
- Remote Lake Superior island wolf numbers are stable but moose population declining, researchers say
- Prince Harry to return to London for Invictus Games anniversary
- Travis Hunter, the 2
- New York special election will fill vacancy in Congress created by resignation of Democrat Higgins
Ranking
- The Louvre will be renovated and the 'Mona Lisa' will have her own room
- Golden tickets: See what movie theaters are offering senior discounts
- Psst! Everything at J.Crew Factory Is 50% off Right Now, Including Hundreds of Cute Springtime Finds
- These Mean Girls Secrets Totally Are Fetch
- Questlove charts 50 years of SNL musical hits (and misses)
- Highway back open after train carrying propane derails at Arizona-New Mexico state line
- Hamas releases propaganda video of two hostages, including a kidnapped American citizen
- Family of Ralph Yarl files lawsuit against Andrew Lester, homeowners association after 2023 shooting
Recommendation
Intel's stock did something it hasn't done since 2022
Prince William, Princess Kate celebrate 13th wedding anniversary: See the throwback photo
Find Out How Much Money Travis Kelce Will Make With Kansas City Chiefs After New NFL Deal
4 law enforcement officers killed in shooting in Charlotte, North Carolina
Could your smelly farts help science?
'I like to move it': Zebras escape trailer, gallop on Washington highway: Watch video
'You tip, we tip': Domino's to begin tipping customers who tip their delivery drivers
Las Vegas Raiders signing ex-Dallas Cowboys WR Michael Gallup