The U.S. Department of Labor has made startling allegations against a Tennessee firm, accusing it of illegally employing children as young as 13 years old.
Shockingly, these minors were reportedly tasked with cleaning hazardous equipment like head splitters and jaw pullers in meat processing plants during overnight shifts.
This revelation unfolds amidst an ongoing investigation into whether migrant children are being utilized in cleaning roles within U.S. slaughterhouses.
It also comes less than a year after another sanitation services provider was fined $1.5 million for employing over 100 minors, aged 13 to 17, across 13 meat processing plants in eight states.
Federal law explicitly prohibits minors from working in meat processing due to the heightened risk of injury. The U.S. Department of Labor, in a significant move, announced on Wednesday its petition for a federal court in Iowa to issue a temporary injunction against Fayette Janitorial Services, based in Somerville, Tennessee.
Hazardous Tasks in Meat Plants (Credits: KARE 11)
The investigation revealed that the company had been employing children for overnight shifts to fulfill sanitation contracts at various meat and poultry companies.
According to the Department of Labor, Fayette Janitorial Services, which operates in approximately 30 states and boasts a workforce of over 600 employees, allegedly engaged minors in cleaning tasks involving hazardous equipment.
These tasks included cleaning kill floor equipment such as head splitters, jaw pullers, meat bandsaws, and neck clippers, among others.
The DOL’s findings indicated that Fayette had hired 15 children as young as 13 years old at a Perdue Farms processing plant in Accomac, Virginia, where a 14-year-old sustained severe injuries. Additionally, at least nine minors were reportedly employed at a Seaboard Triumph Foods facility in Sioux City, Iowa.
Perdue Farms promptly terminated its contract with Fayette following the DOL’s court filing. A spokesperson for Perdue emphasized that underage labor has no place in their business or the industry at large, stressing the importance of stringent eligibility checks for all associates and vendors.
As of now, neither Fayette Janitorial Services nor Seaboard Triumph Foods has issued a response to requests for comment on the matter.
The allegations highlight the gravity of child labor violations within the meat processing industry and underscore the urgent need for stringent enforcement of labor laws to protect vulnerable minors from exploitation and harm.
