A janitorial company has been fined $649,000 by the United States Department of Labor for hiring minors to work in dangerous jobs cleaning slaughterhouses. The investigation revealed that Fayette Janitorial Service had employed at least 24 children, some as young as 13, for overnight shifts at two separate slaughter facilities.
Federal labor laws prohibit children from certain tasks in slaughtering and meat packaging plants, such as using or cleaning machinery, due to the hazardous conditions involved. In response to the findings, Fayette has been ordered to pay the fine and hire a third party to prevent future instances of child labor. They are also required to establish a reporting mechanism for concerns related to the employment of children.
Fayette acknowledged that fraudulent identification documents had allowed underage individuals to bypass their policies and procedures. The company stated that significant investments in systems and technologies have been made to prevent such situations from occurring again. They emphasized their commitment to maintaining a safe and compliant work environment for all employees.
The investigation identified children working at Seaboard Triumph Foods Plant in Iowa and a Perdue Farms poultry processing facility in Virginia. The minors were tasked with cleaning dangerous equipment on the kill floor, including head splitters, jaw pullers, meat bandsaws, and neck clippers.
Both Perdue Farms and Seaboard took swift action upon learning of the allegations. Perdue terminated its contract with Fayette, stating that underage labor has no place in their business. Seaboard also ended all contracts with Fayette, emphasizing their commitment to upholding labor and employment laws.
Illegal child labor cases have been on the rise, with other contractors facing fines for similar violations. Packers Sanitation Services, for instance, paid $1.5 million in civil penalties last year for employing minors in hazardous occupations and having them work overnight shifts, as revealed in a DOL investigation.
