MORE THAN 100 CHILDREN ILLEGALLY EMPLOYED IN HAZARDOUS JOBS says DOJ
In an investigation of one of the nation’s largest food safety sanitation companies, the Department of Labor found that over a three-year period, more than 100 children as young as 13 were employed to clean dangerous power equipment at 13 meat processing facilities in eight states. The children worked overnight shifts and were required to use “hazardous chemicals” as they cleaned back saws, brisket saws and head splitters, according to the DOL.
FEDERAL INVESTIGATION FINDS: FOOD SANITATION CONTRACTOR PAYS $1.5M IN PENALTIES
A Wisconsin-based food safety sanitation contractor has paid $1.5 million in penalties after the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division found that the company illegally employed 102 children in hazardous jobs at 13 meat processing plants across eight states.
According to the DOL, the Kieler, Wis.-based Packers Sanitation Services tasked children with cleaning equipment at JBS Foods plants in Gibbon, Nebraska; Worthington, Minnesota; and Turkey Valley Farms in Marshall, Minnesota. The children were assigned to overnight shifts and worked with dangerous power equipment requiring them to use caustic chemicals, the DOL said.
The DOL said the company failed to ensure that these children were provided with adequate protective gear and that they were not subjected to unsafe work conditions. It also said the company did not provide enough training for these children to ensure that they understood their responsibilities.
The DOL is seeking a nationwide injunction against the company, PSSI, while it investigates the violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act. The agency also asked the court to impose a temporary restraining order against the company, so that it cannot continue to employ dozens of minor-aged workers under the age of 18.
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