A large American company exploited children and teenagers in dangerous jobs

A major US food sanitation company illegally hired 102 children between the ages of 13 and 17 to work where harsh chemicals were used to clean razor-sharp saws. Writes about it CNN.

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A US Department of Labor (DOL) investigation found that Packers Sanitation Services paid $1,5 million in civil penalties for employing minors in hazardous jobs and for forcing them to work night shifts at 13 meat processing plants in eight states.

A Keeler, Wisconsin-based company hired children to clean meat processing equipment, including saws and head cutters. According to the investigation, three children were injured.

The company was punished with the maximum civil fine permitted by federal law - $15 for each underage employee hired in violation of the law.

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“From the beginning, we have been very clear that our company has a zero-tolerance policy for the hiring of persons under the age of 18 and fully shares the goal of DOL to ensure full compliance in all places,” a Packers Sanitation spokesperson said in a statement.

The company said that none of the minors currently work for it, and that "many" of them worked there many years ago.

“As soon as we became aware of the DOL allegations, we conducted several additional reviews of our employee base and hired an outside law firm to review and further strengthen our policies in this area,” the statement said. “We also provided several additional trainings to hiring managers, including how to identify identity theft.”

The DOL investigation began in August 2022 with an investigation into the company's workers at factories in Nebraska and Minnesota.

In November, a complaint was filed in the U.S. District Court of Nebraska alleging that Packers Sanitation illegally hired at least 31 children to clean dangerous equipment. A federal judge issued a temporary injunction barring the company from committing further violations of the child labor law.

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In December, Packers agreed to take "significant steps" to comply with labor laws.

Packers paid a total of $741 in fines to two JBS Foods companies in Grand Island, Nebraska and Worthington, Minnesota for employing 762 minors. In addition, she was fined for hiring 49 minors at Cargill Inc. in Dodge City (Kansas), as well as factories in Arkansas, Colorado, Indiana, Tennessee and Texas.

“These kids should never have worked in meatpacking plants. This can only happen if employers do not take responsibility for preventing child labor violations in the first place,” said Jessica Luman, a spokeswoman for the Department of Labor.

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