A Tennessee-based sanitation company, Fayette Janitorial Service LLC, has agreed to pay over half a million dollars after a federal investigation found that it illegally hired at least two dozen children to clean dangerous meat processing facilities in Iowa and Virginia. The U.S. Department of Labor announced that Fayette entered into a consent judgment, agreeing to pay nearly $650,000 in civil penalties and cease employing minors. Federal investigators believed that at least four children were still working at one Iowa slaughterhouse as of December 12. U.S. law prohibits people under 18 from working in meat processing plants due to the hazards involved.
The Labor Department alleged that Fayette used 15 underage workers at a Perdue Farms plant in Accomac, Virginia, as well as at least nine at Seaboard Triumph Foods in Sioux City, Iowa. The children were responsible for sanitizing dangerous equipment like head splitters, jaw pullers, and meat bandsaws in hazardous conditions where animals are killed and rendered. One 14-year-old sustained severe injuries while cleaning the drumstick packing line belt at the plant in Virginia. Perdue Farms and Seaboard Triumph Foods terminated their contracts with Fayette in response to the investigation.
As part of the agreement, Fayette will hire a third-party consultant to monitor the company’s compliance with child labor laws for a minimum of three years and facilitate trainings. The company must also establish a hotline for individuals to report concerns about child labor abuses. A spokesperson for Fayette stated that the company is cooperating with the investigation and has a “zero-tolerance policy for minor labor.” The Labor Department has been drawing attention to a growing number of child labor violations across the country, including the fatal injury of a 16-year-old at a Mississippi poultry plant, the death of a 16-year-old in a sawmill accident in Wisconsin, and the discovery of over 100 children illegally employed by Packers Sanitation Services Inc. in 13 meatpacking plants.
In response to the increase in child labor violations, the Labor Department has imposed stricter penalties on companies found to be employing minors illegally. The number of children being employed illegally in the U.S. has increased by 88% since 2019, as per the latest statistics from the Labor Department. Companies like Packers Sanitation Services Inc. have paid hefty civil penalties for hiring underage workers. In the case of Fayette Janitorial Service LLC, the company’s agreement to pay nearly $650,000 in civil penalties and cease employing minors shows a concerted effort by the Labor Department to crack down on child labor violations in the meat processing industry.
The consent judgment entered into by Fayette Janitorial Service LLC not only requires the company to pay civil penalties but also mandates that it no longer employs minors and implements measures to ensure compliance with child labor laws. By hiring a third-party consultant to monitor compliance and facilitate trainings, Fayette is taking steps to prevent further violations. The establishment of a hotline for reporting concerns about child labor abuses demonstrates a commitment to addressing the issue transparently. This case highlights the importance of enforcing regulations around child labor to protect young workers from dangerous and exploitative working conditions in the meat processing industry.
